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Le-jennabon  put  the  wreath  on  her  head. 

Page  I//, 


BY   REEF 
AND  PALM 

BY    LOUIS    BECKE 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION 

BY    THE    EARL    OF 

PEMBROKE 


J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 
PHILADELPHIA   MDCGCC 


Printed  by  J.  B.  Lippimcott  Company, 
Philadelphia,  U.6.A. 


Illustrations. 


FAGS 


Le-jennabon  put  the  wreath  on  her  head 

Frontispiece. 

The  value  of  a  tun  of  oil  and  a  bag  of 

Chilian  dollars   gasped  out   its  life 

upon  the  matted  floor 49 

The  old  woman   awaited   him,  holding 

the  girl  by  the  hand 78 

So  Taku  stooped  and  picked  it  up  from 

where  it  lay  on  the  mat  .....     186 


268511 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/byreefpalmOObecl<rich 


By   Louis    Becke. 


HIS  NATIVE  WIFE. 

BY  REEF  AND   PALM. 

Issued  in  the  Lotos  Library.      Illustrated. 

i6mo.     Polished  buckram,  75  cents 

per  volume. 

THE  EBBING  OF  THE  TIDE. 

SOUTH   SHA   STORIES. 

Large  x2mo.     Cloth  extra,  I1.25. 

**  Mr.  Becke  tells  his  stories  with  an  utter 
simplicity  that  is  at  once  dignified  and  in- 
expressibly pungent,"  —  Boston  Evening 
Transcript. 


Introduction. 


A.^ 


HEN  in  October, 
1870,  I  sailed  into 
the  harbour  of  Apia, 
Samoa,  in  the  ill- 
fated  Albatross^  Mr. 
Louis  Becke  was 
gaining  his  first  ex- 
periences of  island 
life  as  a  trader  on 
his  own  account  by 
running  a  cutter 
between  Apia  and 
Savaii. 

It  was  rather  a 
notable  moment  in 
Apia,  for  two  reasons.  In  the  first 
place,    the    German    traders   were 


INTRODUCTION. 

shaking  in  their  shoes  for  fear  of 
what  the  French  squadron  might 
do  to  them,  and  we  were  the 
bearers  of  the  good  news  from 
Tahiti  that  the  chivalrous  Admiral 
Clouet,  with  a  very  proper  mag- 
nanimity, had  decided  not  to  molest 
them  J  and,  secondly,  the  beach 
was  still  seething  with  excitement 
over  the  departure  on  the  previous 
day  of  the  pirate  Pease,  carrying 
with  him  the  yet  more  illustrious 
«  Bully  "  Hayes. 

It  happened  in  this  wise.  A 
month  or  two  before  our  arrival, 
Hayes  had  dropped  anchor  in  Apia, 
and  some  ugly  stories  of  recent 
irregularities  in  the  labour  trade 
had  come  to  the  ears  of  Mr. 
Williams,  the  English  consul. 
Mr.  Williams,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  natives,  very  cleverly  seized 
his  vessel  in  the  night,  and  ran  her 
ashore,  and  detained  Mr.  Hayes 
pending  the  arrival  of  an  English 
man-of-war  to  which  he  could  be 
given  in  charge.  But  in  those 
happy  days  there  were  no  prisons 
in  Samoa,  so  that  his  confinement 


INTRODUCTION. 


was  not  irksome,  and  his  only  hard 
labour  was  picnics,  of  which  he 
was  the  life  and  soul.  All  went 
pleasanciy  until  Mr.  Pease — a  de- 
generate sort  of  pirate  who  made 
his  Hving  by  half  bullying,  half 
swindling  lonely  white  men  on 
small  islands  out  of  their  cocoanut 
oil,  and  unarmed  merchantmen  out 
of  their  stores — came  to  Apia  in  an 
armed  ship  with  a  Malay  crew. 
From  that  moment  Hayes's  life 
became  less  idyllic.  Hayes  and 
Pease  conceived  a  most  violent 
hatred  of  each  other,  and  poor  old 
Mr.  Williams  was  really  worried 
into  an  attack  of  elephantiasis 
(which  answers  to  the  gout  in 
those  latitudes)  by  his  continual 
efforts  to  prevent  the  two  despera- 
does from  flying  at  each  other's 
throat.  Heartily  glad  was  he 
when  Pease — who  was  the  sort  of 
man  that  always  observed  les 
convenances  when  possible,  and 
who  fired  a  salute  of  twenty-one 
guns  on  the  Queen's  birthday — 
came  one  afternoon  to  get  his 
papers  "  all  regular,"  and  clear  for 


INTRODUCTION. 

sea.  But  lo  !  the  next  morning, 
when  his  vessel  had  disappeared,  it 
was  found  that  his  enemy  Captain 
Hayes  had  disappeared  also,  and  the 
ladies  of  Samoa  were  left  discon- 
solate at  the  departure  of  the  most 
agreeable  man  they  had  ever  known. 

However,  all  this  is  another 
story,  as  Mr.  Kipling  says,  and  one 
which  I  hope  Mr.  Becke  will  tell 
us  more  fully  some  day,  for  he 
knew  Hayes  well,  having  acted  as 
supercargo  on  board  his  ship,  and 
shared  a  shipwreck  and  other  ad- 
ventures with  him. 

But  even  before  this  date  Mr. 
Becke  had  had  as  much  experience 
as  falls  to  most  men  of  adventures 
in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Born    at    Port    Macquarrie    in 

Australia,    where    his    father    was 

clerk    of    petty    sessions,    he    was 

seized  at  the  age  of  fourteen  with 

an    intense    longing  to   go  to  sea. 

•  It  is  possible  that  he  inherited  this 

I  passion  through  his  mother,  for  her 

I  father,    Charles    Beilby,   who   was 

private   secretary  to   the   Duke  of 

Cumberland,  invested  a  legacy  that 


INTRODUCTION. 

fell  to  him  in  a  small  vessel  and 
sailed  with  his  family  to  the  then 
very  nev^  world  of  Australia.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  it  was  impossible 
to  keep  Louis  Becke  at  home  -,  and, 
as  an  alternative,  an  uncle  under- 
took to  send  him,  and  a  brother 
two  years  older,  to  a  mercantile 
house  in  California.  His  first 
voyage  was  a  terrible  one.  There 
were  no  steamers,  of  course,  in 
those  days,  and  they  sailed  for  San 
Francisco  in  a  wretched  old  barque. 
For  over  a  month  they  were  drift- 
ing about  the  stormy  sea  between 
Australia  and  New  Zealand  a 
partially  dismasted  and  leaking 
wreck.  The  crew  mutinied — they 
had  bitter  cause  to — and  only  after 
calling  at  Rurutu  in  the  Tubuai 
Group  and  obtaining  fresh  food  did 
they  permit  the  captain  to  resume 
command  of  the  half-sunken  old 
craft.  They  were  ninety  days  in 
reaching  Honolulu,  and  another 
forty  in  making  the  Californian 
coast. 

The  two  lads  did  not   find   the 
routine  of  a  merchant's  office  at  all 


INTRODUCTION. 

to  their  taste ;  and  while  the  elder 
obtained  employment  on  a  cattle 
ranche,  Louis,  still  faithful  to  the 
sea,  got  a  berth  as  clerk  in  a  steam- 
ship company,  and  traded  to  the 
Southern  ports.  In  a  year's  time 
he  had  money  enough  to  take 
passage  in  a  schooner  bound  on  a 
shark-catching  cruise  to  Christmas 
and  Palmyra  Islands  in  the  North 
Pacific.  The  life  was  a  very  rough 
one,  and  full  of  incident  and  adven- 
ture— which  I  hope  he  will  relate 
some  day.  Returning  to  Honolulu, 
he  fell  in  with  an  old  man  who  had 
bought  a  schooner  for  a  trading 
venture  amongst  the  Western  Caro- 
Hnes.  Becke  put  in  $i,ooo,  and 
sailed  with  him  as  supercargo,  he 
and  the  skipper  being  the  only 
white  men  on  board.  He  soon 
discovered  that,  though  a  good  sea- 
man, the  old  man  knew  nothing  of 
navigation.  In  a  few  weeks  they 
were  among  the  Marshall  Islands, 
and  the  captain  went  mad  from 
delirium  tremens.  Becke  and  the 
three  native  sailors  ran  the  vessel  into 
a  httle  uninhabited  atoll,  and  for  a 


lo 


INTRODUCTION. 

week  had  to  keep  the  captain  tied 
up  to  prevent  his  killing  himself. 
They  got  him  right  at  last  and 
stood  to  the  westward.  On  their 
voyage  they  were  witnesses  of  a 
tragedy  (in  this  instance  fortunately 
not  complete),  on  which  the  pitiless 
sun  of  the  Pacific  has  looked  down 
very  often.  They  fell  in  with  a 
big  Marshall  Island  sailing  canoe 
that  had  been  blown  out  of  sight  of 
land,  and  had  drifted  six  hundred 
miles  to  the  westward.  Out  of 
her  complement  of  seventy  people, 
thirty  were  dead.  They  gave  them 
provisions  and  water,  and  left  them 
to  make  Strong's  Island  (Kusaie), 
which  was  in  sight.  Becke  and 
the  chief  swore  Marshall  Island 
Bruderschaft  with  each  other.  Years 
afterwards,  when  he  came  to  live 
in  the  group,  the  chief  proved  his 
friendship  in  a  signal  manner. 

The  cruise  proved  a  profitable 
one,  and  from  that  time  Mr.  Becke 
determined  to  become  a  trader  and 
to  learn  to  know  the  people  of 
every  group  of  the  Pacific;  and 
returning   to   Cahfornia,   he   made 


INTRODUCTION. 


for  Samoa,  and  from  thence  to 
Sydney.  But  at  this  time  the 
Palmer  River  gold  rush  had  just 
broken  out  in  North  Queensland, 
and  a  brother  who  was  a  bank 
manager  on  the  celebrated  Charters 
Towers  goldfields,  invited  him  to 
come  up,  as  every  one  seemed  to  be 
making  his  fortune.  He  wandered 
between  the  rushes  for  two  years, 
not  making  a  fortune,  but  acquiring 
much  useful  experience,  learning 
amongst  other  things  the  art  of  a 
blacksmith,  and  becoming  a  crack 
shot  with  a  rifle.  Returning  to 
Sydney,  he  sailed  for  the  Friendly 
Islands  (Tonga)  in  company  with 
the  king  of  Tonga's  yacht — the 
Taufaahau.  The  Friendly  Islanders 
disappointed  him  (at  which  no  one 
that  knows  them  will  wonder),  and 
he  went  on  to  Samoa,  and  set  up  as 
a  trader  on  his  own  account  for  the 
first  time.  He  and  a  Manhiki 
half-caste  bought  a  cutter,  and  went 
into  partnership,  trading  throughout 
the  group.  This  was  the  time  of 
Colonel  Steinberger's  brief  tenure 
of  power.   The  natives  were  fighting 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 

and  the  cutter  was  seized  on  two 
occasions.  When  the  war  was  over 
he  made  a  study  of  the  language, 
and  became  a  great  favourite  with 
the  natives,  as  indeed  seems  to  have 
been  the  case  in  most  of  the  places 
he  went  to  in  Polynesia  and  Mi- 
cronesia. From  Samoa  he  was  sent 
away  in  charge  of  a  trading  vessel 
under  sealed  orders  to  the  Marshall 
Islands.  These  orders  turned  out 
to  be  to  hand  the  vessel  over  to  the 
notorious  Captain  "Bully"  Hayes. 
(Some  day  he  promises  that  he  will 
give  us  the  details  of  this  very 
curious  adventure.)  He  found 
Hayes  awaiting  him  in  his  famous 
brig  Leonora  in  Milli  Lagoon.  He 
handed  over  his  charge  and  took 
passage  with  him  in  the  brig. 
After  some  months  cruising  in  the 
Carolines  they  were  wrecked  on 
Strong's  Island  (Kusaie).  Hayes 
made  himself  the  ruler  of  the  island, 
and  Mr.  Becke  and  he  had  a  bitter 
quarrel.  The  natives  treated  the 
latter  with  great  kindness,  built 
him  a  house,  and  gave  him  land  on 
the  lee  side  of  the  island,  where  he 


13 


INTRODUCTION. 

lived  happily  enough  for  five  months. 
Hayes  vs^as  captured  by  an  English 
man-of-war,  but  escaped  and  w^ent 
to  Guam.  Mr.  Becke  w^ent  back 
in  the  cruiser  to  the  Colonies,  and 
then  again  sailed  for  Eastern  Poly- 
nesia, living  in  the  Gambiers, 
Paumotus,  and  Easter  and  Pitcairn 
Islands.  In  this  part  of  the  ocean 
he  picked  up  an  abandoned  French 
barque  on  a  reef,  floated  her,  and 
loaded  her  with  cocoanuts,  intending 
to  sail  her  to  New  Zealand  with  a 
native  crew,  but  they  went  ashore 
in  a  hurricane  and  lost  everything. 
Meeting  with  the  managing  partner 
of  a  Liverpool  firm  he  took  service 
with  them  as  a  trader  in  the  EUice 
and  Tokelau  groups ;  finally  settling 
down  as  a  residential  trader.  Then 
he  took  passage  once  more  for  the 
CaroHnes  and  was  wrecked  on  Peru, 
one  of  the  savage  Gilbert  islands 
(lately  annexed),  losing  every  dollar 
that  he  possessed.  He  returned  to 
Samoa  and  engaged  as  "recruiter" 
in  the  labour  trade.  He  got  badly 
hurt  in  an  encounter  with  some 
natives  and  went  to  New  Zealand 


H 


INTRODUCTION. 


to  recover.  Then  he  sailed  to  New 
Britain  on  a  trading  venture,  and 
fell  in  with  and  had  much  to  do 
with  the  ill-fated  colonising  expe- 
dition of  the  Marquis  de  Rayo  in 
New  Ireland.  A  bad  attack  of 
malarial  fever,  and  a  wound  in  the 
neck  (labour  recruiting  or  even 
trading  among  the  blacks  of  Mela- 
nesia seems  to  have  been  a  much 
less  pleasant  business  than  residence 
among  the  gentle  brown  folk  of  the 
Eastern  Pacific)  made  him  leave 
and  return  to  the  Marshall  Islands, 
where  Lailik,  the  chief  whom  he 
had  succoured  at  sea  years  before, 
made  him  welcome.  He  left  on 
a  fruitless  quest  after  an  imaginary 
guano  island,  and  from  then  until 
two  years  ago  he  has  been  living  on 
various  islands  in  both  the  North 
and  South  Pacific,  leading  what  he 
calls  "a  wandering  and  lonely  but 
not  unhappy  existence,"  "Lui," 
as  they  call  him,  being  a  man  both 
liked  and  trusted  by  the  natives 
from  lonely  Easter  Island  to  the 
far-away  Pellews.  During  one  of 
his  visits  to  the  Colonies  he  married 


15 


INTRODUCTION. 

a  young  Irish  lady,  a  da  ighter  of 
Colonel  Maunsell  of  H  M.  nth 
Regiment,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children.  For  the  last  two  years 
he  has  been  living  in  Australia  and 
contributing  South  Sea  stories  to 
the  Colonial  papers.  He  is  still  in 
the  prime  of  Hfe,  and  whether  he 
will  now  remain  within  the  bounds 
of  civilisation,  or  whether  some  day 
he  will  return  to  his  wanderings  as 
Odysseus  is  fabled  to  have  done  in 
his  old  age,  I  fancy  that  he  hardly 
knows  himself.  But  when  once 
the  charm  of  a  wild  roving  life  has 
got  into  a  man's  blood,  the  trammells 
of  civilisation  are  irksome  and  its 
atmosphere  is  hard  to  breathe. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  all-too- 
condensed  sketch  of  Mr.  Becke's 
career  that  he  knows  the  Pacific 
as  few  men  alive  or  dead  have  ever 
known  it.  He  is  one  of  the  rare 
men  who  have  led  a  very  wild  life 
and  have  the  culture  and  talent 
necessary  to  give  some  acceunt  of 
it.  As  a  rule,  the  men  who  know 
don't  write,  and  the  men  whc  write 
don't  know. 


16 


INTRODUCTION. 

Every  one  who  has  a  taste  for 
good  stories  will  feel,  I  believe,  the 
force  of  these.  Every  one  who 
knows  the  South  Seas,  and  I  believe 
many  who  do  not,  will  feel  that 
they  have  the  unmistakable  stamp 
of  truth.  And  truth  to  nature  is 
— pace  Mr.  Oscar  Wilde — a  great 
merit  in  a  story,  not  only  because 
of  that  thrili  of  pleasure  hard  to 
analyse,  but  largely  made  up  of 
associations,  memories,  and  sugges- 
tions, that  faithfulness  of  represen- 
tation in  picture  or  book  gives  to 
the  natural  man  ;  but  because  of  the 
fact  that  nature  is  almost  infinitely 
rich  and  the  unassisted  imagination 
of  man  but  a  poor  and  sterile  thing, 
tending  constantly  towards  some 
ossified  convention.  "  Treasure 
Island  "  is  a  much  better  story  than 
*'  The  Wreckers,"  yet  I,  for  one, 
shall  never  cease  to  regret  that  Mr. 
Stevenson  did  not  possess,  when 
he  wrote  "  Treasure  Island,"  that 
knowledge  of  what  men  and 
schooners  do  in  wild  seas  that 
was  his  when  he  gave  us  "  The 
Wreckers."    The  detail  would  have 


INTRODUCTION. 


been    so    much    richer   and    more 
convincing. 

It  is  open  to  any  one  to  say  that 
these  tales  are  barbarous,  and  what 
Mrs.  Meynell,  in  a  very  clever  and 
amusing  essay,  has  called  "  de- 
civilised."  Certainly  there  is  a 
wide  gulf  separating  life  on  a 
Pacific  island  from  the  accumulated 
culture  of  centuries  of  civiHsation 
in  the  midst  of  which  such  as  Mrs. 
Meynell  move  and  have  their  being. 
And  if  there  can  be  nothing  good 
in  literature  that  does  not  spring 
from  that  culture,  these  stories  must 
stand  condemned.  But  such  a  view 
is  surely  too  narrow.  Much  as  I 
admire  that  lady's  writings,  I  never 
can  think  of  a  world  from  which 
everything  was  eliminated  that  did 
not  commend  itself  to  the  dainty 
taste  of  herself  and  her  friends 
without  a  feeling  of  impatience  and 
suffocation.  It  takes  a  huge  variety 
of  men  and  things  to  make  a  good 
world.  And  ranches  and  cafions, 
veldts  and  prairies,  tropical  forests 
and  coral  islands,  and  all  that  goes 
to  make  up  the  wild  life  in  the  face 


i8 


INTRODUCTION. 

of  nature  or  among  primitive  races, 
far  and  free  from  the  artificial  con- 
ditions of  an  elaborate  civilisation, 
form  an  element  in  the  world  the 
loss  of  which  would  be  bitterly  felt 
by  many  a  man  who  has  never  set 
foot  outside  his  native  land. 

There  is  a  certain  monotony 
perhaps  about  these  stories.  To 
some  extent  this  is  inevitable.  The 
interests  and  passions  of  South  Sea 
Island  life  are  neither  numerous  nor 
complex,  and  action  is  apt  to  be 
rapid  and  direct.  A  novelist  of 
that  modern  school  that  fills  its 
volumes,  often  fascinatingly  enough, 
by  refining  upon  the  shadowy  re- 
finements of  civilised  thought  and 
feeling,  would  find  it  hard  to  ply 
his  trade  in  South  Sea  Island  society. 
His  models  would  always  be  cutting 
short  in  five  minutes  the  hesitations 
and  subtleties  that  ought  to  have 
lasted  them  through  a  quarter  of  a 
lifetime.  But  I  think  it  is  possible 
that  the  English  reader  might  gather 
from  this  little  book  an  unduly 
strong  impression  of  the  uniformity 
of  Island  life.     The  loves  of  white 


ig 


INTRODUCTION. 

men  and  brown  women,  often 
cynical  and  brutal,  sometimes  ex- 
quisitely tender  and  pathetic,  neces- 
sarily fill  a  large  space  in  any  true 
picture  of  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
and  Mr.  Becke,  no  doubt  of  set 
artistic  purpose,  has  confined  him- 
self in  the  collection  of  tales  now 
offered  almost  entirely  to  this  facet 
of  the  life.  I  do  not  question  that 
he  is  right  in  deciding  to  detract 
nothing  from  the  striking  effect  of 
these  powerful  stories,  taken  as  a 
whole,  by  interspersing  amongst 
them  others  of  a  different  character. 
But  I  hope  it  may  be  remembered 
that  the  present  selection  is  only 
an  instalment,  and  that  if  it  finds 
favour  with  the  British  public  we 
may  expect  from  him  some  of  those 
tales  of  adventure,  and  of  purely 
native  life  and  custom,  which  no 
one  could  tell  so  well  as  he. 

Jme^  1894,  PEMBROKE. 


20 


Challis  the  Doubter. 


THE     WHITE      LADY      AND      THE      BROWN 
WOMAN. 


OUR  years  had  come  and 
gone  since  the  day  that 
Challis,  with  a  dull  and 
savage  misery  in  his  heart, 
had,  cursing  the  love- 
madness  which  once 
possessed  him,  walked  out 
from  his  house  in  an 
Australian  city  with  an 
undefined  and  vague  pur- 
pose of  going  "  some- 
where" to  drown  his 
sense  of  wrong  and  erase 
from  his  memory  the  face 
of  the  woman  who,  his 
wife  of  not  yet  a  year, 
had     played     with     her 

his.     So  he  thought,  any- 


honour  and 
how. 


2T 


BY     REEF    AND    PALM. 

You  see,  Challis  was  "  a  fool  " — al 
least  so  his  pretty,  violet-eyed  wife 
had  told  him  that  afternoon  with  a 
bitter  and  contemptuous  ring  in  her 
voice  when  he  had  brought  another 
man's  letter — written  to  her — and 
with  impulsive  and  jealous  haste  had 
asked  her  to  explain.  He  was  a  fool, 
she  had  said,  with  an  angry  gleam  in 
the  violet  eyes,  to  think  she  could  not 
"take  care"  of  herself.  Admit  re- 
ceiving that  letter?  Of  course  !  Did 
he  think  she  could  help  other  men 
writing  silly  letters  to  her  ?  Did  he 
not  think  she  could  keep  out  of  a 
mess  ?  And  she  smiled  the  self- 
satisfied  smile  of  a  woman  conscious 
of  many  admirers  and  of  her  own 
powers  of  intrigue. 

Then  Challis,  with  a  big  effort, 
gulping  down  the  rage  that  stirred 
him,  made  his  great  mistake.  He 
spoke  of  his  love  for  her.  Fatuity  ! 
She  laughed  at  him,  said  that  as  she 
detested  women,  his  love  was  too 
exacting  for  her  if  it  meant  that  she 
should  never  be  commonly  friendly 
with  any  other  man. 

Challis  looked  at  her  steadily  for  a 
few  moments,  trying  to  smother  the 


22 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

wild  flood  of  black  suspicion  aroused 
in  him  by  the  discovery  of  the  letter 
and  confirmed  by  her  sneering  words, 
and  then  said  quietly  but  with  a 
dangerous  inflexion  in  his  voice — 

"Remember — you  are  my  wife. 
If  you  have  no  regard  for  your  own 
reputation,  you  shall  have  some  for 
mine.     I  don't  want  to  entertain  my 

friends  by  thrashing  R ,  but  I'm 

not  such  a  fool  as  you  think.  And  if 
you  go  further  in  this  direction  you'll 
find  me  a  bit  of  a  brute.'* 

Again  the  sneering  laugh — "  In- 
deed !  Something  very  tragic  will 
occur,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Challis,  grimly,  "  some- 
thing very  prosaic — common  enough 
among  men  with  pretty  wives — I'll 
clear  out." 

"  I  wish  you  would  do  that  now," 
said  his  wife,  "I  hate  you  quite 
enough." 

Of  course  she  didn't  quite  mean  it. 
She  really  liked  Challis  in  her  own 
small-souled  way — principally  because 
his  money  had  given  her  the  social 
pleasures  denied  her  during  her  girl- 
hood. With  an  unmoved  face  and 
without  farewell  he  left  her  and  went 
to  his  lawyer's. 


23 


BY     REEF    AND    PALM. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  he  arose 
to  go,  and  the  lawyer  asked  him  when 
he  intended  returning. 

"That  all  depends  upon  her.  If 
she  wants  me  back  again,  she  can 
write,  through  you,  and  Til  come — if 
she  has  conducted  herself  with  a 
reasonable  amount  of  propriety  for 
such  a  pretty  woman." 

Then,  with  an  ugly  look  on  his 
face,  Challis  went  out ;  next  day  he 
embarked  in  the  Lady  Alicia  for  a  six 
months'  cruise  among  the  islands  of 
the  North-west  Pacific. 

That  was  four  years  ago,  and  to-day 
Challis,  who  stands  working  at  a  little 
table  set  in  against  an  open  window, 
hammering  out  a  ring  from  a  silver 
coin  on  a  marlinspike  and  vyce, 
whistles  softly  and  contentedly  to 
himself  as  he  raises  his  head  and 
glances  through  the  vista  of  cocoanuts 
that  surround  his  dwelling  on  this 
lonely  and  almost  forgotten  island. 

"  The  devil  !  "  he  thinks  to  him- 
self, "  I  must  be  turning  into  a  native. 
Four  years  !  What  an  ass  I  was  ! 
And  Fve  never  written  yet — that  is, 
never  sent  a  letter  away.  Well,  neither 
has  she.     Perhaps,  after  all,  there  was 


24 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 


little  in   that  affair  of  R- 


By  God  !  though,  if  there  was,  IVe 
been  very  good  to  them  in  leaving 
them  a  clear  field.  Anyhow,  she's  all 
right  as  regards  money.  I'm  glad  Fve 
done  that.  It*s  a  big  prop  to  a  man's 
conscience  to  feel  he  hasn't  done  any- 
thing mean  ;  and  she  likes  money — 
most  women  do.  Of  course  I'll  go 
back — if  she  writes.  If  not — well, 
then,  these  sinful  islands  can  claim 
me  for  their  own ;  that  is,  Nalia 
can.'' 

A  native  boy  with  shaven  head,  save 
for  a  long  tuft  on  the  left  side,  came 
down  from  the  village,  and,  seating 
himself  on  the  gravelled  space  inside 
the  fence,  gazed  at  the  white  man 
with  full,  lustrous  eyes. 

"Hallo,  tama!''  said  Challis, 
**  whither  goest  now  ?  ** 

"  Pardon,  Tialli.  I  came  to  look 
at  thee  making  the  ring.  Is  it  of  soft 
silver — and  for  Nalia,  thy  wife  ?  " 

'*  Ay,  O  Shaven  Head,  it  is.  Here, 
take  this  masi  and  go  pluck  me  a 
young  nut  to  drink,"  and  Challis 
threw  him  a  ship-biscuit.  Then  he 
went  on  tapping  the  little  band  of 
silver.     He  had  already  forgotten  the 


2S 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

violet  eyes,  and  was  thinking  with 
almost  childish  eagerness  of  the  soft 
glow  in  the  black  orbs  of  Nalia  when 
she  should  see  his  finished  handiwork. 

The  boy  returned  with  a  young 
cocoanut,  unhusked.  "Behold,  Tialli. 
This  nut  is  a  uto  gdau^  sweet  husk. 
When  thou  hast  drunk  the  juice  give 
it  me  back,  that  I  may  chew  the  husk 
which  is  sweet  as  the  sugar-cane  of 
Samoa,"  and  he  squatted  down  again 
on  the  gravel. 

•  •  •  • 

Challis  drank,  then  threw  him  the 
husk  and  resumed  his  work.  Presently 
the  boy,  tearing  off  a  strip  of  the 
husk  with  his  white  teeth,  said, 
"Tialli,  how  is  it  that  there  be  no 
drinking-nuts  in  thy  house  ?" 

"  Because,  O  turtle-head,  my  wife 
is  away;  and  there  are  no  men  in  the 
village  to-day ;  and  because  the  women 
of  this  motu  *  have  no  thought  that 
the  fapalagi*  may  be  parched  with 
thirst,  and  so  come  not  near  me  with 
a  cocoanut."     This  latter  in  jest. 

"Nay,  Tialli.  Not  so.  True  it 
is  that  to-day  all  the  men  are  in  the 
bush  binding  fala  leaves  around  the 
cocoanut  trees,  else  do  the  rats  steal 

*  Island  or  country.  ■  Foreigner. 


26 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

Up  and  eat  the  buds  and  clusters  of 
little  nuts.  And  because  Nalia,  thy 
wife,  is  away  at  the  other  White  Man's 
house  no  woman  cometh  inside  the 
door." 

Challis  laughed.  "O  evil-minded 
people  of  Nukunono  !  And  must  I, 
thy  papalagi,  be  parched  with  thirst 
because  of  this  ? " 

"  Faiaga  oe,  Tialli,  thou  but  playest 
with  me.  Raise  thy  hand  and  call 
out  *  I  thirst  !  *  and  every  woman  in  the 
village  will  run  to  thee,  each  with  a 
drinking-nut,  and  those  that  desire 
thee,  but  are  afraid,  will  give  two. 
But  to  come  inside  when  Nalia  is 
away  would  be  to  put  shame  on  her." 

•  •  •  • 

The  white  man  mused.  The  boy's 
solemn  chatter  entertained  him.  He 
knew  well  the  native  customs  ;  but, 
to  torment  the  boy,  he  commenced 
again. 

"  O,  foolish  custom  !  See  how  I 
trust  my  wife  Nalia.  Is  she  not  even 
now  in  the  house  of  another  white 
man  ?  " 

"  True.  But,  then,  he  is  old  and 
feeble,  and  thou  young  and  strong. 
None  but  a  fool  desires  to  eat  a  dried 


27 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

flying-fish  when  a  fresh  one  miy  be 
had.** 

"  O,  wise  man  with  the  shaven 
crown,"  said  Challis,  with  mocking 
good  nature,  "  thou  art  full  of  wisdom 
of  the  ways  of  women.  And  if  I  were 
old  and  withered,  would  Nalia  then 
be  false  to  me  in  the  house  of  another 
and  younger  white  man  ?  " 

"  How  could  she  ?  Would  not  he, 
too,  have  a  wife  who  would  watch 
her  ?  And  if  he  had  not,  and  were 
nofo  noa  (single),  would  he  be  such  a 
fool  to  steal  that  which  he  can  buy — 
for  there  are  many  girls  without 
husbands  as  good  to  look  on  as  that 
Nalia  of  thine.  And  all  women  are 
alike,"  and  then,  hearing  a  woman^s 
voice  calling  his  name,  he  stood  up. 

"  Farewell,  O  ulu  tula  poto  "  (Wise 
Baldhead),  said  Challis,  as  the  boy, 
still  chewing  his  sweet  husk,  walked 
back  to  the  native  houses  clustered 
under  the  grove  oi pua  trees. 

Ere  dusk,  Nalia  came  home,  a 
slenderly-built  girl  with  big  dreamy 
eyes,  and  a  heavy  mantle  of  wavy 
hair.  A  white  muslin  gown,  fastened 
at  the  throat  with  a  small  silver 
brooch,  was  her  only  garment,  save 


28 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

the  folds  of  the  navy-blue-and-white 
/ava  lava  round  her  waist,  which  the 
European-fashioned  garment  covered. 

Challis  was  lying  down  when  she 
came  in.  Two  girls  who  came  with 
her  carried  baskets  of  cooked  food, 
presents  from  old  Jack  Kelly,  Challis's 
fellow-trader.  At  a  sign  from  Nalia 
the  girls  took  one  of  the  baskets  of 
food  and  went  away.  Then,  taking 
off  her  wide-brimmed  hat  oi  fala  leaf^ 
she  sat  down  beside  Challis  and 
pinched  his  cheek. 

"  O  lazy  one !  To  let  me  walk  from 
the  house  of  Tiaki  all  alone  !  " 

*'  Alone !  There  were  three  ot 
thee." 

" Tapa  !  Could  I  talk  to  them!  I, 
a  white  man's  wife,  must  not  be  too 
familiar  with  every  girl  ;  else  they 
would  seek  to  get  presents  from  me 
with  sweet  words.  Besides,  could  I 
carry  home  the  fish  and  cooked  fowl 
sent  thee  by  old  Tiaki  ?  That  would 
be  unbecoming  to  me,  even  as  it 
would  be  if  thou  climbed  a  tree  for  a 
cocoanut" — and  the  Daughter  of  the 
Tropics  laughed  merrily  as  she  patted 
Challis  on  his  sunburnt  cheek. 

Challis  rose,  and  going  to  the  little 
table  took  from  it  the  ring. 


29 


BY     REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  See,  Nalia,  I  am  not  lazy  as  thou 
sayest.     This  is  thine." 

The  girl,  with  an  eager  Aue  !  took 
the  bauble  and  placed  it  on  her  finger. 
She  made  a  pretty  picture,  standing 
there  in  the  last  glow  of  the  sun  as  it 
sank  into  the  ocean,  her  languorous 
eyes  filled  with  a  tender  light. 

Challis,  sitting  on  the  end  of  the 
table  regarding  her  with  half-amused 
interest  as  does  a  man  watching  a 
child  with  a  toy,  suddenly  flushed 
hotly  :  "  By  God,  I  can't  be  such  a 
fool  as  to  begin  to  love  her  in  reality, 
but  yet  .  .  .  come  here,  Nalia,"  and 
he  drew  her  to  him,  and,  turning  her 
face  up  so  that  he  might  look  into  her 
eyes,  he  asked  : 

"  Nalia,  hast  thou  ever  told  me  any 
lies  ?  " 

The  steady  depths  of  those  dark 
eyes  looked  back  into  his,  and  she 
answered  : 

"  Nay,  I  fear  thee  too  much  to  lie. 
Thou  mightst  kill  me." 

"I  do  but  ask  thee  some  little 
things.  It  matters  not  to  me  what 
the  answer  is.  Yet  see  that  thou 
keepest  nothing  hidden  from  me." 

The  girl,  with  parted  lips  and  one 
hand  on  his,  waited. 


30 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"Before  thou  became  my  wife, 
Nalia,  hadst  thou  any  lovers  ?  ** 

"  Yes,  two — Kapua  and  Tafu-le- 
Afi." 

"And  since?" 

"  May  I  choke  and  perish  here 
before  thee  if  I  lie  !     None." 

Challis,  still  holding  her  soft  brown 
chin  in  his  hand,  asked  her  one  more 
question — a  question  that  only  one  of 
his  temperament  would  have  dared  to 
ask  a  girl  of  the  Tokelaus. 

"  Nalia,  dost  thou  love  me  ?  ** 

"Aye,  alofa  tumau  (everlasting  love). 
Am  I  a  fool  ?  Are  there  not  Letia, 
and  Miriami,  and  Eline,  the  daughter 
of  old  Tiaki,  ready  to  come  to  this 
house  if  I  love  any  but  thee  ?  There- 
fore my  love  is  like  the  suckers  of  the 
fae  (octopus)  in  its  strength.  My 
mother  has  taught  me  much  wisdom." 

A  curious  feeling  of  satisfaction 
possessed  the  man,  and  next  day  Letia, 
the  "  show  '*  girl  of  the  village,  visiting 
Challis's  store  to  buy  a  tin  of  salmon, 
saw  Nalia  the  Lucky  One  seated  on 
a  mat  beneath  the  seaward  side  of 
the  trader's  house,  surrounded  by  a 
billowy  pile  of  yellow  silk,  diligently 
sewing. 

"  Ho,  dear  friend  of  my  heart  !      Is 


31 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

that  silken  dress  for  thee  ?  For  the 
love  of  God,  let  me  but  touch  it. 
Four  dollars  a  fathom  it  be  priced  at. 
Thy  husband  is  indeed  the  king  for 
generosity.  Art  thou  to  become  a 
mother  ? " 

"Away,  silly  fool,  and  do  thy  buying 
and  pester  me  not." 

Challis,  coming  to  the  corner  of  the 
house,  leant  against  a  post,  and  some- 
thing white  showed  in  his  hand.  It 
was  a  letter.  His  letter  to  the  woman 
of  violet  eyes,  written  a  week  ago,  in 
the  half-formed  idea  of  sending  it  some 
day.  He  read  it  through,  and  then 
paused  and  looked  at  Nalia.  She 
raised  her  head  and  smiled.  Slowly, 
piece  by  piece,  he  tore  it  into  tiny 
little  squares,  and,  with  a  dreamy 
hand-wave,  threw  them  away.  The 
wind  held  them  in  mid-air  for  a 
moment,  and  then  carried  the  little 
white  flecks  to  the  beach. 

"  What  is  it  ? "  said  the  bubbling 
voice  of  Letia  the  Disappointed. 

"Only  a  piece  of  paper  that  weighed 
as  a  piece  of  iron  on  my  bosom.  But 
it  is  gone  now." 

"  Even  so,"  said  Letia,  smelling  the 
gaudy  label  on  the  tin  of  salmon  in 


32 


BY    REEF    ANC    PALM. 

the  anticipative  ecstasy  of  a  true 
Polynesian,  "/^  se  me  a  fa^agotoimoana 
(like  a  thing  buried  deep  in  ocean). 
May  God  send  me  a  white  man  as 
generous  as  thee — a  whole  tin  of 
samani  for  nothing  !  Now  do  1  know 
that  Nalia  will  bear  thee  a  son." 

And  that  is  why  Challis  the  Doubter 
has  never  turned  up  again. 


33 


«T/x    in    the   Blood: 


E  were  in  Man  ton's 
Hotel  at  Levuka — 
Levuka  in  her  palmy- 
days.  There  were 
Robertson,  of  the 
barque  Rotumah ;  a  fat 
German  planter  from 
the  Yasawa  group ; 
Harry  the  Canadian,  a 
trader  from  the  Toke- 
laus — and  myself. 

Presently  a  knock 
came  to  the  door,  and 
Allan,  the  boatswain  of 
our  brig,  stood  hat  in 
hand  before  us.  He 
was  a  stalwart  half-caste  of  Manhiki, 
and,  perhaps,  the  greatest  manaia 
(Lothario)  from  Ponape  to  Fiji. 


35 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  Captain  say  to  come  aboard, 
please.  He  at  the  consul's  for  papers 
— he  meet  you  at  boat,"  and  Allan 
left. 

"  By  shingo,  dot's  a  big  fellow,** 
said  planter  Oppermann. 

**  Ay,"  said  Robertson,  the  trading 
skipper,  "and  a  good  man  with  his 
mauleys,  too.  He's  the  champion 
knocker-out  in  Samoa,  and  is  a  match 
for  any  Englishman  in  Polynesia,  let 
alone  foreigners  " — with  a  sour  glance 
at  the  German. 

"  Well,  good-bye  all,"  I  said  ;  "Fm 
sorry,  Oppermann,  I  can't  stay  for 
another  day  for  your  wedding,  but 
our  skipper  isn't  to  be  got  at  any- 
how." 

The  trading  captain  and  Harry 
walked  with  me  part  of  the  way,  and 
they  commenced  the  usual  Fiji  gup, 

"Just  fancy  that  fat-headed  Dutch- 
man going  all  the  way  to  Samoa  and 
picking  on  a  young  girl  and  sending 
her  to  the  Sisters  to  get  educated 
properly  !  As  if  any  old  beach-girl 
isn't  good  enough  for  a  blessed  Dutch- 
man.    Have  you  seen  her  ? " 

"No,"  I  said;  "Oppermann  showed 
me  her  photo.  Pretty  girl.  Says  she's 
been   three  years  with  the  Sisters  in 


36 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

Samoa,  and  has  got  all  the  virtues  ot 
her  white  father,  and  none  of  the 
vices  of  her  Samoan  mammy.  Told 
me  he's  spent  over  two  thousand 
dollars  on  her  already." 

Robertson  smiled  grimly:  "Ay,  I 
don't  doubt  it.  He's  been  all  round 
Levuka  cracking  her  up.  I  brought 
her  here  last  week,  and  the  Dutch- 
man's been  in  a  chronic  state  of  silly 
ever  since.  She's  an  almighty  fine 
girl.  She's  staying  with  the  Sisters 
here  till  the  marriage.  By  the  Lord, 
here  she  is  now  coming  along  the 
street  !  Bet  a  dollar  she's  been  round 
Vagadace  way,  where  there  are  some 
fast  Samoan  women  living.  'Tis  in  the 
blood,  I  tell  you." 

The  future  possessor  of  the  Opper- 
mann  body  and  estate  was  a  pretty 
girl.  Only  those  who  have  seen  fair 
young  Polynesian  half-castes — before 
they  get  married,  and  grow  coarse, 
and  drink  beer,  and  smoke  like  a 
factory  chimney — know  how  pretty. 

Our  boat  was  at  the  wharf,  and  just 
as  we  stood  talking  Allan  sauntered 
up  and  asked  me  for  a  dollar  to  get  a 
bottle  of  gin.  Just  then  the  German's 
fiancee  reached  us.  Robertson  intro- 
duced Harry  and  myself  to  her,  and 


37 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

then  said  good-bye.  She  stood  there 
in  the  broiling  Fijian  sun  with  a 
dainty  sunshade  over  her  face,  looking 
so  lovely  and  cool  in  her  spotless 
muslin  dress,  and  withal  so  innocent, 
that  I  no  longer  wondered  at  the 
Dutchman's  "  chronic  state  of  silly." 

Allan  the  Stalwart  stood  by  waiting 
for  his  dollar.  The  girl  laughed 
joyously  when  Harry  the  Canadian 
said  he  would  be  at  the  wedding  and 
have  a  high  time,  and  held  out  her 
soft  little  hand  as  he  bade  her  adieu 
and  strolled  off  for  another  drink. 

The  moment  Harry  had  gone  Allan 
was  a  new  man.  Pulling  off  his  straw 
hat,  he  saluted  her  in  Samoan,  and 
then  opened  fire. 

"  There  are  njany  teine  lalelei 
(beautiful  girls)  in  the  world,  but 
there  is  none  so  beautiful  as  thou. 
Only  truth  do  I  speak,  for  I  have 
been  to  all  countries  of  the  world. 
Ask  him  who  is  here — our  supercargo 
— if  I  lie.  O,  maid  with  the  teeth 
of  pearl  and  face  like  Fetuao  (the 
morning  star),  my  stomach  is  drying 
up  with  the  fire  of  love." 

The  sunshade  came  a  little  lower, 
and  the  fingers  played  nervously  with 
the  ivory  handle.  I  leant  against  a 
cocoanut  tree  and  listened. 


38 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  Thy  name  is  Vaega.  See  that  ! 
Flow  do  I  know  ?  Aha,  how  do  I  ? 
Because,  for  two  years  or  more,  when- 
ever I  passed  by  the  stone-wall  of  the 
Sisters' dwelling  in  Matafele,!  climbed 
up  and  watched  thee,  O  Star  of  the 
Morning,  and  I  heard  the  other  girls 
call  thee  Vaega.  Oho  !  and  some 
night  1  meant  to  steal  thee  away." 

The  rascal !  He  told  me  two  days 
afterwards  that  the  only  time  he  ever 
climbed  the  Mission  wall  was  to  steal 
mangoes. 

The  sunshade  was  tilted  back,  and 
displayed  two  big,  black  eyes,  luminous 
with  admiring  wonder. 

"And  so  thou  hast  left  Samoa  to 
come  here  to  be  devoured  by  this  fat 
hog  of  a  Dutchman  !  Dost  thou  not 
know,  O  foolish,  lovely  one,  that  she 
who  mates  with  a  Siamani  (German) 
grows  old  in  quite  a  little  time,  and 
thy  face,  which  is  now  smooth  and 
fair,  will  be  coarse  as  the  rind  of  a 
half-ripe  breadfruit,  because  of  the 
bad  food  these  swine  of  Germans 
eat  ? " 

"Allan,''  I  called,  "here's  the  cap- 
tain !  " 

There  was  a  quick  clasp  of  hands 
as    the   Stalwart   One  and  the   Maid 


39 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

hurriedly  spoke  again,  this  time  in  a 
whisper,  and  then  the  white  muslin 
floated  away  out  of  sight. 

The  captain  was  what  he  called 
"  no  so  dry  '* — viz.,  half-seas  over,  and 
very  jolly.  He  told  Allan  he  could 
have  an  hour  to  himself  to  buy  what 
he  wanted,  and  then  told  me  that  the 
captain  of  a  steam  collier  had  promised 
to  give  us  a  tug  out  at  daylight. 
"  Tm  right  for  the  wedding-feast  after 
all,"  I  thought. 

.  •  •  • 

But  the  wedding  never  came  off. 
That  night,  Oppermann,  in  a  frantic 
state,  was  tearing  round  Levuka  hunt- 
ing for  his  love,  who  had  disappeared. 
At  daylight,  as  the  collier  steamed 
ahead  and  tautened  our  tow-line,  we 
could  see  the  parties  of  searchers  with 
torches  scouring  the  beach.  Our 
native  sailors  said  they  had  heard  a 
scream  about  ten  at  night  and  seen 
the  sharks  splashing,  and  the  white 
liars  of  Levuka  shook  their  heads  and 
looked  solemn  as  they  told  tales  of 
monster  sharks  with  eight-foot  jaws 
always  cruising  close  in  to  the  shore 
at  night. 

Three  days  afterwards  Allan  came 


40 


BY    PEEF    AND    PALM. 

to  me  with  a  stolid  face  and  asked  for 
a  bottle  of  wine,  as  Vaega  was  very 
sea-sick.  I  gave  him  the  wine,  and 
threatened  to  tell  the  captain.  He 
laughed,  and  said  he  would  fight  any 
man,  captain  or  no  captain,  who 
meddled  with  him.  And,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  he  felt  safe — the  skipper  valued 
him  too  much  to  bully  him  over  the 
mere  stealing  of  a  woman.  So  the 
limp  and  sea-sick  Vaega  was  carried 
up  out  of  the  sweating  foc'sle  and 
given  a  cabin  berth,  and  Allan 
planked  down  two  twenty  -  dollar 
pieces  for  her  passage  to  the  Union 
Group.  When  she  got  better  she 
sang  rowdy  songs,  and  laughed  all 
day,  and  made  fun  of  the  holy  Sisters. 
And  one  day  Allan  beat  her  with  a  deal 
board  because  she  sat  down  on  a  band- 
box in  the  trade-room  and  ruined  a 
hat  belonging  to  a  swell  officiaFs  wife 
in  Apia.  And  she  liked  him  all  the 
better  for  it. 

The  fair  Vaega  was  Mrs.  Allan  for 
just  six  months,  when  his  erratic  fancy 
was  captivated  by  the  daughter  of 
Mauga,  the  chief  of  Tutuila,  and  an 
elopement  resulted  to  the  mountains. 
The  subsequent  and  inevitable  parting 


41 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 


made  Samoa  an  undesirable  place  of 
residence  for  Allan,  who  shipped  as 
boatsteerer  in  the  Niger  of  New 
Bedford.  As  for  Vaega,  she  drifted 
back  to  Apia,  and  there,  right  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Mission  Church,  she 
flaunted  her  beauty.  The  last  time  I 
saw  her  was  in  Charley  the  Russian's 
saloon,  when  she  showed  me  a  letter. 
It  was  from  the  bereaved  Oppermann, 
asking  her  to  come  back  and  marry 
him. 

"  Are  you  going  ? "  I  said. 

"  E  pule  le  Atua''  (if  God  so  wills), 
"  but  he  only  sent  me  twenty  dollars, 
and  that  isn't  half  enough.  However, 
there's  an  American  man-of-war  coming 
next  week,  and  these  other  girls  will 
see  then.  I'll  make  the  papalagi^ 
ofncers  shell  out.      To  fa^  aliir 

*  Foreign. 


42 


The  Revenge  of  Macy 
O'Shea, 


m^r2M 


A    STORY 
OF    THE    MARQUESAS. 

I. 

IKENA  the  Club- 
Footed  guided  me  to 
an  open  spot  in  the 
jungle-growth,  and, 
sitting  down  on  the 
butt  of  a  twisted  toa^ 
indicated  by  a  sweep 
of  his  tattooed  arm  the 
lower  course  of  what 
had  once  been  the 
White  Man's  dwelling. 
*'Like  unto  himself 
was  this,  his  house,"  he 
said,  puffing  a  dirty- 
clay  pipe,  "  square- 
built  and  strong.  And 
the  walls  were  of 
great  blocks  made  of 
panisina — of  coral  and 


43 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

lime  and  sand  mixed  together  ;  and 
around  each  centre-post — posts  that  to 
lift  one  took  the  strength  of  fifty  men 
— was  wound  two  thousand  fathoms 
of  thin  plaited  cinnec,  stained  red  and 
black.  Apd!  he  was  a  great  man  here 
in  these  motu  (islands)  although  he  fled 
from  prison  in  your  land ;  and  when 
he  stepped  on  the  beach  the  marks  of 
the  iron  bands  that  had  once  been 
round  his  ankles  were  yet  red  to  the 
sight.  There  be  none  such  as  he  in 
these  days.     But  he  is  now  in  Hell." 

This  was  the  long-deferred  funeral 
oration  of  Macy  O'Shea,  sometime 
member  of  the  chain-gang  of  Port 
Arthur,  and  subsequently  runaway 
convict,  beachcomber,  cutter-oiF  of 
whaleships,  and  Gentleman  of  Leisure 
in  Eastern  Polynesia.  And  of  his 
many  known  crimes  the  deed  done  in 
this  isolated  spot  was  the  darkest  of 
all.     Judge  of  it  yourself. . 

The  arrowy  shafts  of  sunrise  had 
scarce  pierced  the  deep  gloom  of  the 
silent  forest  ere  the  village  woke  to 
life.  Right  beside  the  thatch-covered 
dwelling  of  Macy  O'Shea,  now  a  man 
of  might,  there  towers  a  stately  tamanu 
tree ;  and,  as  the  first  faint  murmur 


44 


BY    REEF   AND    PALM. 

of  women's  voices  arises  from  the 
native  huts,  there  is  a  responsive  twit- 
tering and  cooing  in  the  thickly- 
leaved  branches,  and  further  back  in 
the  forest  the  heavy  booming  note  of 
the  red-crested  pigeon  sounds  forth 
like  the  beat  of  a  muffled  drum. 

With  slow,  languid  step,  Sera,  the 
wife  of  Macy  O'Shea,  comes  to  the  open 
door  and  looks  out  upon  the  placid 
lagoon,  now  just  rippling  beneath  the 
first  breath  of  the  trade-wind,  and  longs 
for  courage  to  go  out  there — there  to 
the  point  of  the  reef — and  spring  over 
among  the  sharks.  The  girl — she  is 
hardly  yet  a  woman — shudders  a  mo- 
ment and  passes  her  white  hand  before 
her  eyes,  and  then,  with  a  sudden  gust 
of  passion,  the  hand  clenches.  "  I 
would  kill  him — kill  him  if  there  was 
but  a  ship  here  to  get  away  !  I  would 
sell  myself  over  and  over  again  to  the 
worst  whaler's  crew  that  ever  sailed  the 
Pacific  if  it  would  bring  me  freedom 
from  this  cruel,  cold-blooded  devil  ! " 

A  heavy  tread  on  the  matted  floor 
of  the  inner  room  and  her  face  pales 
to  the  hue  of  death.  But  Macy 
O'Shea   is  somewhat  shy  of  his   two 


45 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

years'  wife  this  morning,  and  she  hears 
the  heavy  steps  recede  as  he  walks 
over  to  his  oil-shed.  A  flock  of  gogo 
cast  their  shadow  over  the  lagoon  as 
they  fly  westward,  and  the  woman's 
eyes  follow  them — "Kill  him,  yes. 
I  am  afraid  to  die,  but  not  to  kill. 
And  I  am  a  stranger  here,  and  if  I 
ran  a  knife  into  his  fat  throat,  these 
natives  would  make  me  work  in  the 
taro-fields,  unless  one  wanted  me  for 
himself."  Then  the  heavy  step  re- 
turns, and  she  slowly  faces  round  to 
the  bloodshot  eyes  and  drink-distorted 
face  of  the  man  she  hates,  and  raises 
one  hand  to  her  lips  to  hide  a  blue 
and  swollen  bruise. 

The  man  throws  his  short,  square- 
set  figure  on  a  rough  native  sofa,  and, 
passing  one  brawny  hand  meditatively 
over  his  stubbly  chin,  says,  in  a  voice 
like  the  snarl  of  a  hungry  wolf,  "Here, 
I  say.  Sera,  slew  round  ;  I  want  to 
talk  to  you,  my  beauty." 

The  pale,  set  face  flushed  and  paled 
again.     "What  is  it,  Macy  O'Shea  ?** 

"Ho,  ho,  'Macy  O'Shea,'  is  it? 
Well,  just  this.  Don't  be  a  fool.  I 
was  a  bit  put  about  last  night,  else  I 
wouldn't  have  been  so  quick  with  my 


46 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

fist.  Cut  your  lip,  I  see.  Well,  you 
must  forget  it  ;  any  way,  it's  the  first 
time  I  ever  touched  you.  But  you 
ought  to  know  by  now  that  I  am  not 
a  man  to  be  trifled  with  ;  no  man,  let 
alone  a  woman,  is  going  to  set  a  course 
for  Macy  O'Shea  to  steer  by.  And, 
to  come  to  the  point  at  once,  I  want 
you  to  understand  that  Carl  Ristow's 
daughter  is  coming  here.  I  want  her, 
and  that's  all  about  it." 

The  woman  laughed  scornfully. 
"  Yes,  I  know.  That  was  why  " — 
she  pointed  to  her  lips.  "  Have  you 
no  shame  ?  I  know  you  hav6  no  pity. 
But  listen.  I  swear  to  you  by  the 
Mother  of  Christ  that  I  will  kill  her 
— kill  you,  if  you  do  this." 

0*Shea*s  cruel  mouth  twitched  and 
his  jaws  set,  then  he  uttered  a  hoarse 
laugh.  "  By  God  !  Has  it  taken  you 
two  years  to  get  jealous  ?  " 

A  deadly  hate  gleamed  in  the  dark, 
passionate  eyes.  "Jealous,  Mother  oi 
God  !  Jealous  of  a  drunken,  licentious 
wretch  such  as  you  !  I  hate  you,  hate 
you !  If  1  had  courage  enough  I  would 
poison  myself  to  be  free  from  you." 

0*Shea's  eyes  emitted  a  dull  sparkle. 
"  I  wish  you  would,  damn  you  !     Yet 


47 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

you  are  game  enough,  you  say,  to  kill 
me — and  Malia  ? " 

"  Yes.  But  not  for  love  of  you. 
But  because  of  the  white  blood  in 
me.  I  can't^I  won't  be  degraded  by 
you  bringing  another  woman  here." 

" '  Por  Dios/  as  your  dad  used  to 
«ay  before  the  devil  took  his  soul, 
we'll  see  about  that,  my  beauty.  1 
suppose  because  your  father  was  a 
d — - — d  garlic-eating,  ear-ringed  Dago, 
and  your  mother  a  come-by-chance 
Tahiti  half-caste,  you  think  he  was  as 
good  as  me." 

"As  good  as  you,  O  bloody-handed 
dog  of  an  English  convict.  He  was  a 
man,  and  the  only  wrong  he  ever  did 
was  to  let  me  become  wife  to  a  devi* 
like  you." 

The  cruel  eyes  were  close  to  hers 
now,  and  the  rough,  brawny  hands 
gripped   her   wrists.      "You    spiteful 

Portuguese  quarter-bred !     Call 

me  a  convict  again  and  I'll  twist  your 
neck  like  a  fowl's.  You  she-devil ! 
I'd  have  made  things  easy  for  you — 
but  I  won't  now.  Do  you  hear  •• " 
and  the  grip  tightened.  "  Ristow's 
girl  will  be  here  to-morrow,  and  if 
you  don't  knuckle  down  to  her  it'll  be 
a  case  of  '  Vamos '  for  you — you  can 


48 


The  value  of  a  tun  of  oil  and  a  bag  of  Chilian   dollars 
gasped  out  its  life  upon  the  matted  floor. 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

go  and  get  a  husband  among  the 
natives,"  and  he  flung  her  aside  and 
went  to  the  god  that  ran  him  closest 
for  his  soul,  next  to  women — his  rum- 
bottle. 

•  •  •  • 

0*Shea  kept  his  word,  for  two  days 
later  Malia,  the  half-caste  daughter  of 
Ristow,  the  trader  at  Ahunui,  stepped 
from  out  her  father's  whaleboat  in 
front  of  0*Shea's  house.  The  trans- 
action was  a  perfectly  legitimate  one, 
and  Malia  did  not  allow  any  incon- 
venient feeling  of  modesty  to  interfere 
with  such  a  lucrative  arrangement  as 
this  whereby  her  father  became  pos- 
sessed of  a  tun  of  oil  and  a  bag  of 
Chilian  dollars,  and  she  of  much  finery. 
In  those  days  missionaries  had  not 
made  much  headway,  and  gentlemen 
like  Messrs.  Ristow  and  0*Shea  took 
all  the  wind  out  of  the  Gospel  drum. 

And  so  Malia,  dressed  as  a  native  girl, 
with  painted  cheeks  and  bare  bosom, 
walked  demurely  up  from  the  boat  to 
the  purchaser  of  her  sixteen-years'- 
old  beauty,  who,  with  arms  folded 
across  his  broad  chest,  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  path  that  led  from  the 
beach  to  his  door.  And  within,  with 
set  teeth  and  a  knife  in  the  bosom  of 


49 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

her  blouse  bodice,  Sera  panted  with 
the  lust  of  Hate  and  Revenge. 

The  bulky  form  of  O'Shea  darkened 
the  doorway.  "  Sera,"  he  called  in 
English,  with  a  mocking,  insulting  in- 
flexion in  his  voice,  '*  come  here  and 
welcome  my  new  wife  !  " 

Sera  came,  walking  slowly  over 
with  a  smile  on  her  lips  and  holding 
out  her  left  hand  to  Malia,  said  in  the 
i.ative  language,  "Welcome  !  " 

"  Why,"  said  0*Shea,  with  mocking 
jocularity,  "  that's  a  left-handed  v/el- 
come.  Sera." 

*'Aye,"  said  the  girl  with  the  White 
Man's  blood,  "my  right  hand  is  for 
this  " — and  the  knife  sank  home  into 
Malia's  yellow  bosom.  "A  cold  bosom 
for  you  to-night,  Macy  O'Shea,"  she 
laughed,  as  the  value  of  a  tun  of  oil 
and  a  bag  of  Chilian  dollars  gasped 
out  its  life  upon  the  matted  floor. 

II. 

The  native  drum  was  beating.  As 
the  blood-quickening  boom  reverbe- 
rated through  the  village,  the  natives 
came  out  from  their  huts  and  gathered 
around  the  House  of  the  Old  Men, 
where,  with  bound  hands  and  feet,  Sera, 


CO 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

the  White  Man's  wife,  sat,  with  her 
back  to  one  of  the  centre-posts.  And 
opposite  her,  sitting  like  a  native  on  a 
mat  of  kapau^  was  the  burly  figure  of 
0*Shea,with  the  demon  of  disappointed 
passion  eating  away  his  reason  and  a 
mist  of  blood  swimming  before  his  eyes. 


The  people  all  detested  her,  espe- 
cially the  soft-voiced,  slender-framed 
women.  In  that  one  thing  savages 
resemble  Christians — the  deadly  hatred 
with  which  women  hate  those  of  their 
sex  whom  they  know  to  be  better  and 
more  pure  than  themselves.  So  the 
matter  was  decided  quickly.  Mesi — 
so  they  called  0*Shea — should  have 
justice.  If  he  thought  death,  let  it 
be  death  for  this  woman  who  had  let 
out  the  blood  of  his  new  wife.  Only 
one  man,  Loloku  the  Boar  Hunter, 
raised  his  voice  for  her,  because  Sera 
had  cured  him  of  a  bad  wound  when 
his  leg  had  been  torn  open  by  the 
tusk  of  a  wild  boar.  But  the  dull 
glare  from  the  eyes  of  O'Shea  fell  on 
him  and  he  said  no  more.  Then  at  a 
sign  from  the  old  men  the  people  rose 
from  the  mats  and  two  unbound  the, 
cords  of  afa  from  the  girl  and  led  her 


51 


SY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

out    into    the    square    and    looked    at 
O'Shea. 

"  Take  her  to  the  boat,"  he  said. 

Ristow*s  boat  had  been  hauled  up, 
turned  over,  and  covered  with  the 
rough  mats  called  kapau  to  keep  off 
the  heat  of  the  sun.  With  staggering 
feet,  but  undaunted  heart,  the  girl 
Sera  was  led  down.  Only  once  she 
turned  her  head  and  looked  back. 
Perhaps  Loloku  would  try  again. 
Then,  as  they  came  to  the  boat,  a 
young  girl,  at  a  sign  from  O'Shea, 
took  off  the  loose  blouse,  and  they 
placed  her,  face  downwards,  across 
the  bilge  of  the  boat,  and  two  pair  of 
small,  eager,  brown  hands  each  seized 
one  of  hers  and  dragged  the  white, 
rounded  arms  well  over  the  keel  of 
the  boat.  O^Shea  walked  round  to 
that  side,  drawing  through  his  hands 
the  long,  heavy,  and  serrated  tail  of 
the  fai — the  gigantic  stinging-ray  of 
Oceana.  He  would  have  liked  to 
wield  it  himself,  but  then  he  would 
have  missed  part  of  his  revenge — he 
could  not  have  seen  her  face.  So 
he  gave  it  to  a  native,  and  watched, 
with  the  smile  of  a  fiend,  the  white 
back  turn  black  and  then  into  bloody 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

red  as  it  was  cut  to  pieces  with  the 
tail  of  the  fai. 

The  sight  of  the  inanimate  thing 
that  had  given  no  sign  of  its  agony 
beyond  the  shudderings  and  twitchings 
of  torn  and  mutilated  flesh  was  per- 
haps disappointing  to  the  tiger  who 
stood  and  watched  the  dark  stream 
that  flowed  down  on  both  sides  of  the 
boat.  Loloku  touched  his  arm — 
**  Mesi,  stay  your  hand.  She  is  dead 
else." 

"Ah,"  said  O'Shea,  "that  would  be 
a  pity,  for  with  one  hand  shall  she 
live  to  plant  taro." 

And,  hatchet  in  hand,  he  walked  in 
between  the  two  brown  women  who 
held  her  hands.  They  moved  aside 
and  let  go.  Then  O'Shea  swung  his 
arm  and  the  blade  of  the  hatchet 
struck  into  the  planking,  and  the 
right  hand  of  Sera  fell  on  the  sand. 

A  man  put  his  arms  around  her, 
and  lifted  her  off  the  boat.  He 
placed  his  hand  on  the  blood-stained 
bosom  and  looked  at  Macy  O'Shea, 

"  E  mate!  "  *  he  said. 

«  Dead! 


53 


The  Rangers  of  the  Tia 
Kau. 


ETWEEN  Nanomea 
and  Nanomaga  —  two 
of  the  Ellice  Group — 
but  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  latter,^  is  an  ex- 
tensive submerged  shoal, 
on  the  charts  called  the 
Grand  Cocal  Reef,  but 
by  the  people  of  the 
two  islands  known  as 
Tia  Kau  (The  Reef). 
On  the  shallowest  part 
there  are  from  four  to 
ten  fathoms  of  water, 
and  here  in  heavy- 
weather  the  sea  breaks. 
The  British  cruiser  Basilisk^  about 
1870,  sought  for  the  reef,  but  reported 


55 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

it  as  non-existent.  Yet  the  Tia  Kau 
is  well  known  to  many  a  Yankee 
whaler  and  trading  schooner,  and  is 
a  favourite  fishing-ground  of  the  people 
of  Nanomaga — when  the  sharks  give 
them  a  chance. 

One  night  Atupa,  King  of  Nano- 
maga, caused  a  huge  fire  to  be  lit  on 
the  beach  as  a  signal  to  the  people  of 
Nanomea  that  a  Malaga^  or  party  of 
voyagers,  was  coming  over.  Both 
islands  are  low — not  more  than  fifteen 
feet  above  sea-level — and  are  distant 
from  one  another  about  thirty-eight 
miles.  The  following  night  the  re- 
flection of  the  answering  fire  on 
Nanomea  was  seen,  and  Atupa  pre- 
pared to  send  away  his  people  in 
seven  canoes.  They  would  start  at 
sundown,  so  as  to  avoid  paddling  in 
the  heat  (the  Nanomagans  have  no 
sailing  canoes),  and  be  guided  to 
Nanomea,  which  they  expected  to 
reach  early  in  the  morning,  by  the 
reflection  of  the  great  fires  of  cocoa- 
nut  and  pandanus  leaves  kindled  at 
intervals  of  a  few  hours.  About 
seventy  people  were  to  go,  and  all 
that  day  the  little  village  busied  itself 
in  preparing  for  the  Nanomeans  gifts 


:;6 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

of  foods — cooked  puraka,  fowls,  pigs, 
and  flying-fish. 

Atupa,  the  heathen  king,  was 
troubled  in  his  mind  in  those  days 
of  August,  1872.  Tht  John  Williams 
had  been  there  and  landed  a  Samoan 
missionary,  who  had  pressed  him  to 
accept  Christianity.  Atupa,  dread- 
ing a  disturbing  element  in  his  king- 
dom, had,  at  first,  declined  ;  but  the 
ship  had  come  again,  and  the  king 
having  consented  to  try  the  new 
religion,  a  teacher  landed.  But  since 
then  he  and  his  chiefs  had  consulted 
the  oracle,  and  had  been  told  that 
the  shades  of  Maumau  Tahori  and 
Foilagi,  their  deified  ancestors,  had 
answered  that  the  new  religion  was 
unacceptable  to  them,  and  that  the 
Samoan  teacher  must  be  killed  or  sent 
away.  And  for  this  was  Atupa  send- 
ing off  some  of  his  people  to  Nanomea 
with  gifts  of  goodwill  to  the  chiefs  to 
beseech  them  to  consult  their  oracles, 
also  so  that  the  two  islands  might  take 
concerted  action  against  this  new 
foreign  god,  which  said  that  all  men 
were  equal,  that  all  were  bad,  and  He 
and  His  Son  alone  good. 


57 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

The  night  was  calm  when  the 
seven  canoes  set  out.  Forty  men  and 
thirty  women  and  children  were  in 
the  party,  and  the  craft  were  too 
deeply  laden  for  any  but  the  smoothest 
sea.  On  the  ama  (outrigger)  of  each 
canoe  were  the  baskets  of  food  and 
bundles  of  mats  for  their  hosts,  and 
seated  on  these  the  children,  while 
the  women  sat  with  the  men  and 
helped  them  to  paddle.  Two  hours' 
quick  paddling  brought  them  to  the 
shoal-water  of  Tia  Kau,  and  at  the 
same  moment  they  saw  to  the  N.W. 
the  sky-glare  of  the  first  guiding  fire. 

It  was  then  that  the  people  in  the 
first  canoe,  wherein  was  Palu,  the 
daughter  of  Atupa,  called  out  to  those 
behind  to  prepare  their  asu  (balers), 
as  a  heavy  squall  was  coming  down 
from  the  eastward.  Then  Laheii,  an 
old  warrior  in  another  canoe,  cried 
out  that  they  should  return  on  their 
track  a  little  and  get  into  deep  water; 
"for,"  said  he,  "if  we  swamp,  away 
from  Tia  Kau,  it  is  but  a  little  thing, 
,  but  here — ''  and  he  clasped  his  hands 
rapidly  together  and  then  tore  them 
apart.  They  knew  what  he  meant — 
the  sharks  that,  at  night-time  forsaking 


58 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

the  deep  waters,  patrolled  in  droves 
of  thousands  the  shallow  waters  of  the 
reef  to  devour  the  turtle  and  the  schools 
of  tafau  uli  and  other  fish.  In  quick, 
alarmed  silence  the  people  headed 
back,  but  even  then  the  first  fierce 
squall  struck  them,  and  some  of  the  frail 
canoes  began  to  fill  at  once.  "  / matagi! 
i  matagi  !**  (head  to  the  wind)  a  man 
called  out ;  "head  to  the  wind,  or  we 
perish  !    'Tis  but  a  puff  and  it*s  gone.*' 

But  it  was  more  than  a  pufi^.  The 
seven  canoes,  all  abreast,  were  still  in 
shallow  water,  and  the  paddlers  kept 
them  dead  in  the  teeth  of  the  whist- 
ling wind  and  stinging  rain,  and 
called  out  words  of  encouragement 
to  one  another  and  to  the  women 
and  children,  as  another  black  squall 
burst  upon  them  and  the  curling  seas 
began  to  break.  The  canoe  in  which 
was  Atupa's  daughter  was  the  largest 
and  best  of  all  the  seven,  but  was 
much  overladen,  and  on  the  outrigger 
grating  were  four  children.  These 
the  chiefs  daughter  was  endeavouring 
to  shield  from  the  rain  by  covering 
them  with  a  mat,  when  one  of  them, 
a  little  girl,  endeavoured  to  steady 
herself  by  holding  to  one  of  the  thin 


^Q 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

pieces  of  grating ;  it  broke,  and  her 
arm  fell  through  and  struck  the  water, 
and  in  an  instant  she  gave  a  dull, 
smothered  wail.  Palu,  the  woman, 
seized  her  by  her  hair  and  pulled  the 
child  up  sitting,  and  then  shrieked 
with  terror — the  girPs  arm  was  gone  ! 

And  then  in  the  blackness  of  night, 
lightened  now  by  the  white,  seething, 
boiling  surge,  the  people  saw  in  the 
phosphorescent  water  countless  hun- 
dreds of  the  savage  terrors  of  the  Tia 
Kau  darting  hither  and  thither  amongst 
the  canoes — for  the  smell  of  blood  had 
brought  them  together  instantly.  Pre- 
sently a  great  grey  monster  tore  the 
paddle  from  out  the  hands  of  the 
steersman  of  the  canoe  wherein  were 
the  terrified  Palu  and  the  four  chil- 
dren, and  then,  before  the  man  for'ard 
could  bring  her  head  to  the  wind,  she 
broached  to  and  filled.  Like  ravening 
wolves  the  sharks  dashed  upon  their 
prey,  and  ere  the  people  had  time  to 
give  more  than  a  despairing  cry  those 
hideous  jaws  and  gleaming  cruel  teeth 
had  sealed  their  fate.  Maddened  with 
fear,  the  rest  of  the  people  threw 
everything  out  of  the  six  other  canoes 
to  lighten  them,  and  as  the  bundles  of 


60 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

mats  and  baskets  of  food  touched  the 
water  the  sharks  seized  and  bit,  tore 
and  swallowed.  Then,  one  by  one, 
every  paddle  was  grabbed  from  the 
hands  of  the  pullers,  and  the  canoes 
broached  to  and  filled  in  that  sea  of 
death — all  save  one,  which  was  carried 
by  the  force  of  the  wind  away  from 
the  rest.  In  this  were  the  only  sur- 
vivors— two  men. 

The  agony  could  not  have  lasted 
long.  "  Were  I  to  live  as  long  as 
he  whom  the  faifeau  (missionary)  tells 
us  lived  to  be  nine  hundred  and  sixty 
and  nine,  I  shall  hear  the  groans  and 
cries  and  shrieks  of  that  po  malaia^ 
that  night  of  evil  luck,"  said  one  of 
the  two  who  lived,  to  the  white  trader 
at  Nanomea.  "  Once  did  I  have  my 
paddle  fast  in  the  mouth  of  a  little 
devil,  and  it  drew  me  backwards, 
backwards,  over  the  stern  till  my  head 
touched  the  water.  Tah !  but  I  was 
strong  with  fear,  and  held  on,  for  to 
lose  it  meant  death  by  the  teeth.  And 
Tulua — he  who  came  out  alive  with 
me,  seized  my  feet  and  held  on,  else 
had  I  gone.  But  look  thou  at  this  " — 
and  he  pointed  to  his  scarred  neck 
and  back  and  shoulders — "ere  I  could 


6i 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

free  m-j  foe  (paddle)  and  raise  my  head 
I  was  bitten  thus  by  others.  Ah, 
Pafalagi^  some  men  are  born  to 
wisdom,  but  most  are  fools.  Had 
not  Atupa  been  filled  with  vain  fears, 
he  had  killed  the  man  who  caused  him 
to  lose  so  many  of  our  people." 

"So,'*  said  the  white  man,  "and 
wouldst  thou  have  killed  the  man 
who  brought  thee  the  new  faith  ? 
Fie  !  " 

"  Aye,  that  would  I — in  those  days 
when  I  was  fo  uli  uli,^  But  not  now, 
for  I  am  Christian.  Yet  had  Atupa 
killed  and  buried  the  stranger,  we 
could  have  lied  and  said  he  died  of  a 
sickness  when  they  of  his  people  came 
to  seek  him.  And  then  had  I  now  my 
son  Tagipo  with  me,  he  who  went 
into  the  bellies  of  the  sharks  at  Tia 
Kau." 

«  Heathen,  lit.,  "  In  the  blackest  night.* 


i 


62 


Pallous   Taloi. 

A    MEMORY    OF   THE    PAUMOTUS. 


STAYED  once  at  Ro- 
toava  —  in  the  Low 
Archipelago,  Eastern 
Polynesia — while  suf- 
fering from  injuries 
received  in  a  boat  acci- 
dent one  wild  night. 
My  host,  the  Rotoava 
trader,  was  a  sociable 
old  pirate,  whose  con- 
vivial soul  would  never 
let  him  drink  alone. 
He  was  by  trade  a 
boat  -  builder,  having 
had,  in  his  early  days,  a 
shed  at  Miller's  Point, 
in  Sydney,  where  he 
made  money  and  mar- 
ried a  wife.     But    this 


63 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

latter  event  was  poor  Tom  Oscott's 
undoing,  and  in  the  end  he  took 
his  chest  of  tools  on  board  the 
Thya  and  sailed  away  to  Polynesia. 
Finally,  after  many  years'  wandering, 
he  settled  down  at  Rotoava  as  a  trader 
and  boat-builder,  and  a  noted  drinker 
of  bottled  beer. 

The  only  method  by  which  I  could 
avoid  his  incessant  invitations  to  "have 
another  '*  was  to  get  his  wife  and 
children  to  carry  me  down  to  his 
work-shed,  a  lovely  spot  surrounded 
by  giant  fuka  trees.  Here,  under  the 
shade,  I  had  my  mats  spread,  and  with 
one  of  his  children  sitting  at  my  head 
to  fan  away  the  flies,  I  lay  and  watched, 
through  the  belt  of  cocoanuts  that 
lined  the  beach,  the  blue  rollers 
breaking  on  the  reef  and  the  snow- 
white  boatswain-birds  floating  high 
overhead. 

•  •  * 

Tom  was  in  the  bush  one  morning 
when  his  family  carried  me  to  the 
boat-shed.  He  had  gone  for  a  log  ot 
seasoned  toa  *  wood  to  another  village. 
At  noon  he  returned,  and  I  heard  him 
bawling  for  me.  His  little  daughter, 
the  fly-brusher,  gave  an  answering 
'  A  hard  wood  much  used  in  boat-building. 


64 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

yell,  and  then  Tom  walked  down  the 
path,  carrying  two  bottles  of  beer  ; 
behind  him  Lucia,  his  eldest  daughter, 
a  monstrous  creature  of  giggles  and 
adipose  tissue,  with  glasses  and  a  plate 
of  crackers ;  lastly,  old  Marie,  the 
wife,  with  a  little  table. 

"  By ,  youVe  a  lot  more  sense'n 

me.  It's  better  lyin'  here  in  the  cool 
than  foolin'  around  in  the  sun  ;  so  I've 
brought  yer  suthin'  to  drink." 

"  Oh,  Tom,"  I  groaned,  "  I'm  sure 
that  beer's  bad  for  me." 

The  Maker  of  Boats  sat  on  his  bench, 
and  said  that  he  knew  of  a  brewer's 
carter  in  Sydney  who,  at  Merriman's 
pub.  on  Miller's  Point,  had  had  a 
cask  of  beer  roll  over  him.  Smashed 
seven  ribs,  one  arm,  and  one  thigh. 
Doctors  gave  him  up  ;  undertaker's 
man  called  on  his  wife  for  coffin 
order ;  but  a  sailor  chap  said  he'd 
pull  him  through.  Got  an  india- 
rubber  tube  and  made  him  suck  up 
as  much  beer  as  he  could  hold  ;  kept 
it  up  till  all  his  bones  "setted"  again, 
and  he  recovered.  Why  shouldn't  I 
— if  I  only  drank  enough  ? 

"  Hurry  up,  old  dark-skin  !  " — this 
to  the  faded  Marie.  Uttering  merely 
the  word  "  Hog  ! "  she  drew  the  cork. 


6s 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

I  had  to  drink  some,  and  every  hour 

or  so  Tom  would  say  it  was  very  hot, 

and  open  yet  another  bottle.     At  last 

I  escaped  the  beer  by  nearly  dying, 

and  then  the  kind  old  fellow  hurried 

away  in  his  boat  to  Apatiki — another 

island  of  the  group — and  came  back 

with  some   bottles    of   claret,  bought 

from  the  French  trader  there. 

With    him    came    two    visitors — a 

big  half-caste  of  middle  age,  and  his 

wife,  a  girl  of  twenty  or  thereabout. 

This  was  Edward  Pallou  and  his  wife 

Taloi. 

•  •  •  • 

I  was  in  the  house  when  Tom 
returned,  enjoying  a  long-denied 
smoke.  Pallou  and  his  wife  entered 
and  greeted  me.  The  man  was  a  fine, 
well-set-up  fellow,  wiry  and  muscular, 
with  deep-set  eyes,  and  bearing  across 
his  right  cheek  a  heavy  scar.  His 
wife  was  a  dainty  little  creature  with 
red  lips,  dazzling  teeth,  hazel  eyes, 
and  long,  wavy  hair.  The  first  thing 
I  noticed  about  her  was  that  instead 
of  squatting  on  a  mat  in  native  fashion 
she  sank  into  a  wide  chair,  and  lying 
back  inquired,  with  a  pleasant  smile 
and  in  perfect  English,  whether  I  was 
feeling  any  better.    She  was  very  fair, 


66 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

even  for  a  Paumotuan  half-caste,  as 
I  thought  she  must  be,  and  I  said  to 
Pallou,  "Why,  any  one  would  take 
your  wife  to  be  an  Englishwoman  ! " 

"  Not  I,"  said  Taloi,  with  a  rippling 
laugh,  as  she  commenced  to  make  a 
banana-leaf  cigarette  ;  *'  I  am  a  full- 
blooded  South  Sea  Islander.  I  belong 
to  Apatiki,  and  was  born  there. 
Perhaps  I  have  white  blood  in  me. 
Who  knows?  —  only  wise  mothers. 
But  when  I  was  twelve  years  old  I 
was  adopted  by  a  gentleman  in  Papeite, 
and  he  sent  me  to  Sydney  to  school. 
Do  you  know  Sydney  ?     Well,  I  was 

three  years  with  the  Misses ,  in 

Street.     My   goodness !    I   was 

glad  to  leave — and  so  were  the  Misses 

to  see  me  go.     They  said  I  was 

downright  wicked,  because  one  day  I 
tore  the  dress  off  a  girl  who  said  my 
skin  was  tallowy,  like  my  name. 
When  I  came  back  to  Tahiti  my 
guardian  took  me  to  Raiatea,  where 
he  had  a  business,  and  said  I  must 
marry  him,  the  beast." 

"  Oh,  shut  up,  Taloi  ! "  growled 
the  deep-voiced  Pallou,  who  sat  beside 
me.  "  What  the  deuce  does  this  man 
care  about  your  doings  ?  " 

"  Shut  up  yourself,  you  brute !  Can*t 


67 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

I  talk  to  any  one  I  like,  you  turtle- 
headed  fool  ?  Am  I  not  a  good  wife 
to  you,  you  great,  over-grown  savage  ? 
Won't  you  let  a  poor  devil  of  a  woman 
talk  a  little?  Look  here,  Tom,  do 
you  see  that  flash  jacket  he's  wearing? 
Well,  I  sat  up  two  nights  making  that 
— for  him  to  come  over  here  with  and 
show  off  before  the  Rotoava  girls.  Go 
and  die,  you !  " 

The  big  half-caste  looked  at  Tom 
and  me.  His  lips  twitched  with 
suppressed  passion,  and  a  dangerous 
gleam  shone  a  moment  in  his  dark 
eyes. 

"  Here,  I  say,  Taloi,"  broke  in  Tom, 
good-humouredly,  "just  go  easy  a  bit 
with  Ted.  As  for  him  a-looking  at 
any  of  the  girls  here,  I  knows  better 
— and  so  do  you." 

Taloi's  laugh,  clear  as  the  note  of  a 
bird,  answered  him,  and  then  she  said 
she  was  sorry,  and  the  lines  around 
Pallou's  rigid  mouth  softened  down. 
It  was  easy  to  see  that  this  grim  half- 
white  loved,  for  all  her  bitter  tongue, 
the  bright  creature  who  sat  in  the  big 

chair. 

•  •  •  • 

Presently  Taloi  and  Lucia  went  out 
to  bathe,  and  Pallou  remained  with  me. 


68 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

Tom  joined  us,  and  for  a  while  no  one 
spoke.  Then  the  trader,  laying  down 
his  pipe  on  the  table,  drew  his  seat 
closer,  and  commenced,  in  low  tones, 
a  conversation  in  Tahitian  with  Pallou. 
From  the  earnest  manner  of  old  Tom 
and  the  sullen  gloom  that  overspread 
Fallouts  face,  I  could  discern  that  some 
anxiety  possessed  them. 

At  last  Tom  addressed  me,  "  Look 

here, ,  Ted  here  is  in  a  mess,  and 

weVe  just  been  a-talkin'  of  it  over, 
and  he  says  perhaps  you'll  do  what 
you  can  for  him." 

The  half-caste  turned  his  dark  eyes 
on  me  and  looked  intently  into  mine. 

"What  is  it,  Tom?" 

"Well,  you  see,  it  come  about  this 
way.  You  heard  this  chap's  missus — 
Taloi — a-talkin'  about  the  Frenchman 
that  wanted  to  marry  her.  He  had 
chartered  a  little  schooner  in  Papeite 
to  go  to  Raiatea.  Pallou  here  was 
mate,  and,  o'  course,  he  being  from  the 
same  part  of  the  group  as  Taloi,  she 
ups  and  tells  him  that  the  Frenchman 
wanted  to  marry  her  straightaway  ; 
and  then,  I  s'pose,  the  two  gets  a  bit 
chummy,  and  Pallou  tells  her  that  if 
she  didn't  want  the  man  he'd  see  as 
how  she  wasn't  forced  agin'  her  will. 


69 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

So  when  the  vessel  gets  to  Raiatea  it 
fell  calm,  just  about  sunset.  The 
Frenchman  was  in  a  hurry  to  get 
ashore,  and  tells  his  skipper  to  put 
two  men  in  the  boat  and  some  grub, 
as  he  meant  to  pull  ashore  to  his 
station.  So  they  put  the  boat  over 
the  side,  and  Frenchy  and  Taloi  and 
Pallou  and  two  native  chaps  gets  in 
and  pulls  for  the  land. 

"They  gets  inside  Uturoa  about  mid- 
night. *  Jump  out,'  says  the  Frenchman 
to  Taloi  ;  but  the  girl  wouldn't,  but 
ties  herself  up  around  Pallou  and 
squeals.  'Sakker!'  says  the  Frenchy, 
and  he  grabs  her  by  the  hair  and  tries 
to  tear  her  away.  ''Ere,  stop  that,' 
says  Pallou  ;  *  the  girl  ain't  willin','  an' 
he  pushes  Frenchy  away.  '  Sakker  ! ' 
again,  and  Frenchy  whips  out  his  pistol 
and  nearly  blows  Pallou's  face  ofl^^n 
him  ;  and  then,  afore  he  knows  how 
it  was  done,  Ted  sends  his  knife  home 
into  the  other  fellow's  throat.  The 
two  native  sailors  runned  away  ashore, 
and  Pallou  and  Taloi  takes  the  oars 
and  pulls  out  again  until  they  drops. 
Then  a  breeze  comes  along,  and  they 
up  stick  and  sails  away  and  gets  clear 
o'  the  group,  and  brings  up,  after  a  lot 
of  sufFerin',  at  Rurutu.    And  ever  since 


70 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

then  there's  been  a  French  gunboat 
a-lookin'  for  Pallou,  and  he's  been 
hidin'  at  Apatiki  for  nigh  on  a  twelve- 
month, and  has  come  over  here  now 
to  see  if,  when  your  ship  comes  back, 
you  can't  give  him  and  the  missus  a 
passage  away  somewhere  to  the  west- 
ward, out  o'  the  run  of  that  there 
gunboat,  the  Vatidreuiiy 

I  promised  I  would  "work  it"  with 
the  captain,  and  Pallou  put  out  his 
brawny  hand — the  hand  that  "  drove 
it  home  into  Frenchy's  throat  " — and 
grasped  mine  in  silence.  Then  he 
lifted  his  jacket  and  showed  me  his 
money-belt,  filled. 

"I  don't  want  money,"  I  said.  "If 
you  have  told  me  the  whole  story,  I 
would  help  any  man  in  such  a  fix  as 
you."  And  then  Taloi,  fresh  from 
her  bath,  came  in  and  sat  down  on 
the  mat  whilst  fat  Lucia  combed  and 
dressed  her  glossy  hair  and  placed 
therein  scarlet  hisbiscus  flowers;  and 
to  show  her  returned  good  temper,  she 
took  from  her  lips  the  cigarette  she 
was  smoking  and  offered  it  to  the  grim 
Pallou. 

A  month  later  we  all  three  left  Ro- 
toava,  and  Pallou  and  Taloi  went  ashore 


71 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

at  one  of  the  Hervey  Group,  where  I 

gave  him  charge  of  a  station  with  a 

small   stock   of  trade,   and  we   sailed 

away  eastward  to  Pitcairn  and  Easter 

Islands. 

•  •  •  • 

Pallou  did  a  good  business  and  was 
well  liked,  and  some  seven  months 
afterwards,  when  we  were  at  Maga 
Reva,  in  the  Gambier  Group,  I  got  a 
letter  from  him.  "  Business  goes  well,** 
he  wrote,  "  but  Taloi  is  ill  ;  I  think 
she  will  die.  You  will  find  everything 
square,  though,  when  you  come." 

But  I  was  never  to  see  that  particu- 
lar island  again,  as  the  firm  sent 
another  vessel  in  place  of  ours  to  get 
Pallou*s  produce.  When  the  captain 
and  the  supercargo  went  ashore,  a 
white  trader  met  them,  with  a  roll  of 
papers  in  his  hand. 

**  Pallou's  stock-list,"  he  said. 

"  Why,  where  is  he  ?  gone  away  ?  ** 

"  No,  he's  here  still ;  planted  along- 
side his  missus." 

"Dead!" 

"  Yes.  A  few  months  after  he 
arrived  here  that  pretty  little  wife  of 
his  died.  He  came  to  me  and  asked 
if  I  would  come  and  take  stock  with 
him.     I  said  he  seemed  in    a  bit  of 


72 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

a  hurry  to  start  stocktaking  before 
the  poor  thing  was  buried  ;  but  any- 
how, I  went,  and  we  took  stock,  and 
he  counted  his  cash  and  asked  me 
to  lock  the  place  up  if  anything 
happened  to  him.  Then  we  had  a 
drink,  and  he  bade  me  good-day  and 
said  he  was  going  to  sit  with  Taloi 
awhile  before  they  took  her  away. 
He  sent  the  native  women  out  of  the 
bedroom,  and  the  next  minute  I  heard 
a  shot.  He'd  done  it,  right  enough. 
Right  through  his  brain,  poor  chap. 
I  can  tell  you  he  thought  a  lot  of  that 
girl  of  his.  There's  the  two  graves, 
over  there  by  that  fetau  tree.  Here's 
his  stock-list  and  bag  of  cash  and  keys. 
Would  you  mind  giving  me  that  pair 
of  rubber  sea-boots  he  left  ? " 


73 


A  Basket    of    Bread- 
fruit. 


T  was  in  Steinberger's 
time.  A  trader  had  come 
up  to  Apia  in  his  boat 
from  the  end  of  Savaii, 
the  largest  of  the  Sa- 
moan  Group,  and  was 
on  his  way  home  again 
when  the  falling  tide 
caused  him  to  stop 
awhile  at  Mulinu*u 
Point,  about  two  miles 
from  Apia.  Here  he 
designed  to  smoke  and 
talk  and  drink  kava  at 
the  great  camp  with 
some  hospitable  native 
acquaintances  during 
the  rising  of  the  water. 
Soon  he  was  taking  his 


75 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

case  on  a  soft  mat,  watching  the  bevy 
.  of  aua  luma  ^  "  chawing  "  kava. 

Now  the  trader  lived  at  Falealupo, 
at  the  extreme  westerly  end  of  Savaii ; 
but  the  Samoans,  by  reason  of  its 
isolation  and  extremity,  have  for  ages 
called  it  by  another  name — an  un- 
printable one — and  so  some  of  the 
people  present  began  to  jest  with  the 
trader  for  living  in  such  a  place.  He 
fell  in  with  their  humour,  and  said 
that  if  those  present  would  find  him 
for  a  wife  a  girl  unseared  by  the  breath 
of  scandal  he  would  leave  Falealupo 
for  Safune,  where  he  had  bought 
land. 

"  Malie  ! "  said  an  old  dame,  with 
one  eye  and  white  hair,  "  the  papa- 
lagi^  is  inspired  to  speak  wisdom  to- 
night ;  for  at  Safune  grow  the  sweetest 
nuts  and  the  biggest  taro  and  bread- 
fruit ;  and,  lo  !  here  among  the  kava- 
chewers  is  a  young  maid  from  Safune 
— mine  own  grand-daughter  Salome. 
And  against  her  name  can  no  one  in 
Samoa  laugh  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand,"  and  the  old  creature,  amid 
laughter  and  cries  of  Isaf  e  le  ma  le  lo 
matua  (The  old  woman  is  without 
shame),  crept  over  to  the  trader,  and, 
■  The  local  girls.  ^  Foreigner. 


76 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

with  one  skinny  hand  on  his  knee, 
gazed  steadily  into  his  face  with  her 
one  eye. 

The  trader  looked  at  the  girl — at 
Salome.  She  had,  at  her  grand- 
mother's speech,  turned  her  head 
aside,  and  taking  the  "chaw"  ot 
kava-root  from  her  pretty  mouth,  dis- 
solved into  shamefaced  tears.  The 
trader  was  a  man  of  quick  percep- 
tions, and  he  made  up  his  mind  to  do 
in  earnest  what  he  had  said  in  jest — 
this  because  of  the  tears  of  Salome. 
He  quickly  whispered  to  the  old 
woman,  "  Come  to  the  boat  before 
the  full  of  the  tide  and  we  will  talk." 

When  the  kava  was  ready  for 
drinking  the  others  present  had  for- 
gotten all  about  the  old  woman  and 
Salome,  who  had  both  crept  away 
unobserved,  and  an  hour  or  two  was 
passed  in  merriment,  for  the  trader 
was  a  man  well  liked.  Then,  when 
he  rose  and  said  to  fa^  they  begged 
him  not  to  attempt  to  pass  down  in 
his  boat  inside  the  reef,  as  he  was  sure 
to  be  fired  upon,  for  how  were  their 
people  to  tell  a  friend  from  an  enemy 
in  the  black  night  ?  But  he  smiled, 
and    said   his    boat    was    too    heavily 


77 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

laden  to  face  the  ocean  swell.  So 
they  bade  him  to  fa^  and  called  out 
manuia  oe  !  ^  as  he  lifted  the  door  of 
thatch  and  went. 

The  old  woman  awaited  him,  hold- 
ing the  girl  by  the  hand.  On  the 
ground  lay  a  basket,  strongly  tied  up. 
Salome  still  wept,  but  the  old  woman 
angrily  bade  her  cease  and  enter  the 
boat,  which  the  crew  had  now  pushed 
bow-on  to  the  beach.  The  old  woman 
lifted  the  basket  and  carefully  put  it 
on  board. 

"  Be  sure,"  she  said  to  the  crew, 
"  not  to  sit  on  it,  for  it  is  but  ripe 
breadfruit  I  am  taking  to  my  people 
*n  Manono." 

"  Give  them  here  to  me,*'  said  the 
trader,  and  he  put  the  basket  in  the 
stern  out  of  the  way.  The  old  woman 
came  aft,  too,  ,and  crouched  at  his 
feet  and  smoked  a  sului?  The  cool 
land-breeze  freshened  as  the  sail  was 
hoisted,  and  then  the  crew  besought 
the  trader  not  to  run  down  inside  the 
reef.  Bullets,  they  said,  if  fired  in 
plenty,  always  hit  something,  and  the 
sea  was  fairly  smooth  outside  the  reef. 

'  Bless  you  ! 

■  A  cigarette  rolled  in  dried  banana  leaf. 


78 


The  old  woman  awaited  him,  holding  the  girl 
by  the  hand. 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

And  old  Lupetea  grasped  his  hand  and 
muttered  in  his  ear,  "For  the  sake  of 
this  my  little  daughter  go  outside. 
See,  now,  I  am  old,  and  to  lie  when 
so  near  death  as  I  am  is  foolish.  Be 
warned  by  me  and  be  wise  ;  sail  out 
into  the  ocean,  and  at  daylight  we  will 
be  at  Salua  in  Manono.  Then  thou 
canst  set  my  feet  on  the  shore — I  and 
the  basket.  But  the  girl  shall  go  with 
thee.  Thou  canst  marry  her,  if  that 
be  to  thy  mind,  in  the  fashion  of  the 
papaiagi^  or  take  Yitrfa^a  Samoa.^  Thus 
will  I  keep  faith  with  thee.  If  the 
girl  be  false,  her  neck  is  but  little  and 
thy  fingers  strong." 

Now  the  trader  thought  in  this 
wise  :  "  This  is  well  for  me,  for  if  I 
get  the  girl  away  thus  quietly  from  all 
her  relations  I  will  save  much  in  pre- 
sents," and  his  heart  rejoiced,  for 
although  not  mean  he  was  a  careful 
man.  So  he  steered  his  boat  between 
the  seething  surf  that  boiled  and 
hissed  on  both  sides  of  the  boat-pas- 
sage. 

•  •  •  • 

As  the  boat  sailed  past  the  misty 
line  of  cloud-capped  Upolu,  the  trader 
lifted  the  girl  up  beside  him  and  spoke 

*  Samoan  fashion. 


7Q 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

to  her.  She  was  not  afraid  of  him, 
she  said,  for  many  had  told  her  he  was- 
a  good  man,  and  not  a  ula  vale  (scamp), 
but  she  wept  because  now,  save  her 
old  grandmother,  all  her  kinsfolk  were 
dead.  Even  but  a  day  and  a  half  ago 
her  one  brother  was  killed  with  her 
cousin.  They  were  strong  men,  but 
the  bullets  were  swift,  and  so  they 
died.  And  their  heads  had  been  shown 
at  Matautu.  For  that  she  had  grieved 
and  wept  and  eaten  nothing,  and  the 
world  was  cold  to  her. 

**  Poor  little  devil  !  "  said  the  trader 
to  himself — "  hungry."  Then  he 
opened  a  locker  and  found  a  tin  of 
sardines.  Not  a  scrap  of  biscuit. 
There  was  plenty  of  biscuit,  though, 
in  the  boat,  in  fifty-pound  tins,  but  on 
these  mats  were  spread,  whereon  his 
crew  were  sleeping.  He  was  about  to 
rouse  them  when  he  remembered  the 
old  dame's  basket  of  ripe  breadfruit. 
He  laughed  and  looked  at  her.  She, 
too,  slept,  coiled  up  at  his  feet.  But 
first  he  opened  the  sardines  and  placed 
them  beside  the  girl,  and  motioned 
her  to  steer.  Her  eyes  gleamed  like 
diamonds  in  the  darkness  as  she 
answered  his  glance,  and  her  soft 
fingers     grasped     the     tiller.      Very 


80 


BY    REEF   AND    PALM. 

quickly,  then,  he  felt  among  the 
packages  aft  till  he  came  to  the 
basket. 

A  quick  stroke  of  his  knife  cut  the 
cinnet  that  lashed  the  sides  together. 
He  felt  inside.  "  Only  two,  after  all, 
but  big  ones,  and  no  mistake.  Wrapped 
in  cloth,  too  !  I  wonder — Hell  and 
furies,  what's  this  ?  " — as  his  fingers 
came  in  contact  with  something  that 
felt  like  a  human  eye.  Drawing  his 
hand  quickly  back,  he  fumbled  in  his 
pockets  for  a  match,  and  struck  it. 
Breadfruit  !  No.  Two  heads  with 
closed  eyes,  and  livid  lips  blue  with 
the  pallor  of  death,  showing  their 
white  teeth.  And  Salome  covered 
her  face  and  slid  down  in  the  bottom 
of  the  boat  again,  and  wept  afresh  for 
her  cousin  and  brother,  and  the  boat 
came  up  in  the  wind,  but  no  one 
awoke. 

•  •  •  • 

The  trader  was  angry.  But  after 
he  had  tied  up  the  basket  again  he  put 
the  boat  on  her  course  once  more  and 
called  to  the  girl.  She  crept  close  to 
him  and  nestled  under  his  overcoat, 
for  the  morning  air  came  across  the 
sea  from  the  dew-laden  forests  and  she 
was  chilled.     Then  she  told  the  story 


8i 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

of  how  her  grandma  had  begged  the 
heads  from  those  of  Malietoa's  troops 
who  had  taken  them  at  Matautu,  and 
then  gone  to  the  camp  at  Mulinu^u  in 
the  hope  of  getting  a  passage  in  some 
boat  to  Manono,  her  country,  where 
she  would  fain  bury  them.  And  that 
night  he  had  come,  and  old  Lupetea 
had  rejoiced  and  sworn  her  to  secrecy 
about  the  heads  in  the  basket.  And 
that  also  was  why  Lupetea  was  afraid 
for  the  boat  to  go  down  inside  the 
passage,  for  there  were  many  enemies 
to  be  met  with,  and  they  would  have 
shot  old  Lupetea  because  she  was  of 
Manono.  That  was  all.  Then  she 
ate  the  sardines,  and,  leaning  her  head 
against  the  trader's  bosom,  fell  asleep. 

As  the  first  note  of  the  great  grey 
pigeon  sounded  the  dawn,  the  trader's 
boat  sailed  softly  up  to  the  Salua 
beach,  and  old  Lupetea  rose,  and, 
bidding  the  crew  good-bye,  and  call- 
ing down  blessings  on  the  head  of  the 
good  and  clever  white  man  as  she 
rubbed  his  and  the  girl's  noses  against 
her  own,  she  grasped  her  Basket  of 
Breadfruit  and  went  ashore.  Then 
the  trader,  with  Salome  by  his  side, 
sailed  out  again  into  the  ocean. 


82 


Rnderbys    Courtship. 


essayed 


to 


HE  two  ghastly  crea- 
tures sat  facing  each 
other  in  their  wordless 
misery  as  the  wind  died 
away  and  the  tattered 
remnants  of  the  sail 
hung  motionless  after  a 
last  faint  flutter.  The 
Thing  that  sat  aft — for 
surely  so  grotesquely 
horrible  a  vision  could 
not  be  a  Man — pointed 
with  hands  like  the 
talons  of  a  bird  of  prey 
to  the  purple  outline 
of  the  island  in  the 
west,  and  his  black, 
blood-baked  lips 
moved,  opened  and 
speak.     The  other    being^ 


83 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

that,  with  bare  and  skinny  arms 
clasped  around  its  bony  knees,  sat 
crouched  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat, 
leaned  forward  to  listen. 

"  Ducie  Island,  Enderby,*'  said  the 
first  in  a  hoarse,  rattling  whisper ;  "  no 
one  on  it ;  but  water  is  there  .  .  . 
and  plenty  of  birds  and  turtle,  and 
a  few  cocoanuts." 

At  the  word  "  water "  the  listener 
gave  a  curious  gibbering  chuckle,  un- 
clasped his  hands  from  his  knees,  and 
crept  further  towards  the  speaker. 

"And  the  current  is  setting  us 
down  to  it,  wind  or  no  wind.  I 
believe  we'll  see  this  pleasure-trip 
through,  after  all  " — and  the  black 
lips  parted  in  a  hideous  grimace. 

The  man  whom  he  called  Enderby 
sank  his  head  again  upon  his  knees, 
and  his  dulled  and  bloodshot  eyes 
rested  on  something  that  lay  at  the 
captain's  feet — the  figure  of  a  woman 
enveloped  from  her  shoulders  down 
in  a  ragged  native  mat.  For  some 
hours  past  she  had  lain  thus  with 
the  grey  shadows  of  coming  dis- 
solution hovering  about  her  pallid 
face,  and  only  the  faintest  movement 
of  lips  and  eyelids  to  show  that  she 
still  lived. 


84 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

The  black-whiskered  man  who 
steered  looked  down  for  a  second  upon 
the  face  beneath  him  with  the  uncon- 
cern for  others  born  of  the  agony  of 
thirst  and  despair,  and  again  his  gaunt 
face  turned  to  the  land.  Yet  she  was 
his  wife,  and  not  six  weeks  back  he 
had  experienced  a  cold  sort  of  satis- 
faction in  the  possession  of  so  much 
beauty. 

He  remembered  that  day  now. 
Enderby,  the  passenger  from  Sydney, 
and  he  were  walking  the  poop  ;  his 
wife  was  asleep  in  a  deck-chair  on 
the  other  side.  An  open  book  lay  in 
her  lap.  As  the  two  men  passed  and 
re-passed  her,  the  one  noted  that  the 
other  would  glance  in  undisguised 
and  honest  admiration  at  the  figure  in 
the  chair.  And  Enderby,  who  was  as 
open  as  the  day,  had  said  to  him, 
Langton,that  the  sleeping  Mrs.  Lang- 
ton  made  as  beautiful  a  picture  as  he 
had  ever  seen. 

The  sail  stirred,  filled  out,  and 
then  drooped  again,  and  the  two 
spectres,  with  the  sleeping  woman 
between,  still  sat  with  their  hungry 
eyes  gazing  over  toward  the  land.  As 
the  sun  sank,  the  outlines  of  the 
verdure-clad    summits    and    beetling 


85 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

cliffs  Stood  forth  clearly  for  a  short 
minute  or  two,  as  if  to  mock  them 
with  hope,  and  then  became  en- 
shrouded in  the  tenebrous  night. 

Another  hour  and  a  faint  sigh  came 
from  the  ragged  mat.  Endcrby,  for 
ever  on  the  watch,  had  first  seen  a 
white  hand  silhouetted  against  the 
blackness  of  the  covering,  and  knew 
that  she  was  still  alive.  And  as  he 
was  about  to  call  Langton,  who  lay  in 
the  stern-sheets  muttering  in  hideous 
dreams,  he  heard  the  woman's  voice 
calling  him.  With  panting  breath  and 
trembling  limbs  he  crawled  over  be- 
side her  and  gently  touched  her  hand. 

"  Thank  God,  you  are  alive,  Mrs. 
Langton.  Shall  1  wake  Captain 
Langton  ?  We  must  be  nearing  the 
land." 

"  No,  don't.  Let  him  sleep.  But  I 
called  you,  Mr.  Enderby,  to  lift  me 
up.  I  want  to  see  where  the  rain  is 
coming  from." 

Enderby  groaned  in  anguish  of 
spirit.       "  Rain  ?    God  has    forgotten 

us,   I ,"  and   then   he  stopped  in 

shame  at  betraying  his  weakness  be- 
fore a  woman. 

The  soft,  tender  tones  again — "  Ah, 


86 


BY     REEF    AND    PALM. 

do  help  me  up,  please,  I  can  feel  the 
rain  is  near."  Then  the  man,  with 
hot  tears  of  mingled  weakness  and 
pity  coursing  down  his  cheeks,  raised 
her  up. 

"  Why,  there  it  is,  Mr.  Enderby — 
and  the  land  as  well  !  And  it's  a 
heavy  squall,  too,**  and  she  pointed  to 
a  moving,  inky  mass  that  half  con- 
cealed the  black  shadow  of  the  island. 
"  Quick,  take  my  mat  ;  one  end  of  it 
is  tight  and  will  hold  water." 

"  Langton,  La-a-ngton  !  Here's  a 
rain  squall  coming,  *  and  Enderby 
pressed  the  woman's  hand  to  his  lips 
and  kissed  it  again  and  again.  Then 
with  eager  hands  he  took  the  mat 
from  her,  and  staggering  forward  to 
the  bows  stretched  the  sound  end 
across  and  bellied  it  down.  And  then 
the  moving  mass  that  was  once  black, 
and  was  now  white,  swept  down  upon 
them  and  brought  them  life  and 
joy. 

Langton,  with  an  empty  beef-tin 
in  his  hand,  stumbled  over  his  wife's 
figure,  plunged  the  vessel  into  the 
water  and  drank  again  and  again. 

'* Curse  you,  you  brute!"  shouted 
Enderby  through  the  wild  noise  of 
the    hissing    rain,   *'  Where    is    your 


87' 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

wife  ?  Are  you  going  to  let  her  lie 
there  without  a  drink  ?  *' 

Langton  answered  not,  but  drank 
once  more.  Then  Enderby,  with  an 
oath,  tore  the  tin  from  his  hand,  filled 
it  and  took  it  to  her,  holding  her  up 
while  she  drank.  And  as  her  eyes 
looked  gratefully  into  his  while  he 
placed  her  tenderly  back  in  the  stern- 
sheets,  the  madness  of  a  moment  over- 
powered him,  and  he  kissed  her  on 
the  lips. 

Concerned  only  with  the  nectar  in 
the  mat,  Langton  took  no  regard  of 
Enderby  as  he  opened  the  little  locker, 
pulled  out  a  coarse  dungaree  jumper 
and  wrapped  it  round  the  thinly-clad 
and  drenched  figure  of  the  woman. 

She  was  weeping  now,  partly  from 
the  joy  of  knowing  that  she  was  not 
to  die  of  the  agonies  of  thirst  in  an 
open  boat  in  mid-Pacific  and  partly 
because  the  water  had  given  her 
strength  to  remember  that  Langton 
had  cursed  her  when  he  had  stumbled 
over  her  to  get  at  the  water  in  the 
mat. 

•  •  •  • 

She  had  married  him  because  of  his 
handsome   face  and  dashing    manner 


88 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

for  one  reason,  and  because  her 
Scotch  father,  also  a  Sydney-Tahitian 
trading  captain,  had  pointed  out  to  her 
that  Langton  had  made  and  was  still 
making  money  in  the  island  trade. 
Her  ideal  of  a  happy  life  was  to  have 
her  husband  leave  the  sea  and  buy 
an  estate  either  in  Tahiti  or  Chili. 
She  knew  both  countries  well  :  the 
first  was  her  birthplace,  and  between 
there  and  Valparaiso  and  Sydney  her 
money-grubbing  old  father  had  traded 
for  years,  always  carrying  with  him 
his  one  daughter,  whose  beauty  the 
old  man  regarded  as  a  "  vara  guid 
thing"  and  likely  to  procure  him  a 
"  weel-to-do  mon"  for  a  son-in-law. 

Mrs.  Langton  cared  for  her  husband 
in  a  prosaic  sort  of  way,  but  she  knew 
no  more  of  his  inner  nature  and  latent 
utter  selfishness  a  year  after  her 
marriage  than  she  had  known  a  year 
before.  Yet,  because  of  the  strain 
of  dark  blood  in  her  veins — her 
mother  was  a  Tahitian  half-caste — she 
felt  the  mastery  of  his  savage  resolu- 
tion in  the  face  of  danger  in  the 
thirteen  days  of  horror  that  had 
elapsed  since  the  brigantine  crashed 
on  an  uncharted  reef  between  Pit- 
cairn    and    Ducie     Islands,    and    the 


8q 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

Other  boat  had  parted  company  with 
them,  taking  most  of  the  provisions 
and  water.  And  to  hard,  callous 
natures  such  as  Langton's,  women 
yield  easily  and  admire — which  is 
better  than  loving,  for  both. 

But  that  savage  curse  still  sounded 
in  her  ears,  and  unconsciously  made 
her  think  of  Enderby,  who  had  always, 
ever  since  the  eighth  day  in  the  boat, 
given  her  half  his  share  of  water. 
Little  did  she  know  the  agony  it  cost 
him  the  day  before,  when  the  water 
had  given  out,  to  bring  her  the  whole 
of  his  allowance.  And  as  she  drank, 
the  man^s  heart  had  beaten  with  a 
dull  sense  of  pity,  the  while  his  baser 
nature  called  out,  "  Fool  !  it  is  his 
place,  not  yours,  to  suffer  for  her." 

At  daylight  the  boat  was  close  in  to 
the  land,  and  Langton.  in  his  cool, 
cynical  fashion,  told  his  wife  and 
Enderby  to  finish  up  the  last  of  the 
meat  and  biscuit — for  if  they  capsized 
getting  through  into  the  lagoon,  he 
said,  they  would  never  want  any 
more.  He  had  eaten  all  he  wanted 
unknown  to  the  others,  and  looked 
with  an  unmoved  face  at  Enderby, 
soaking  some  biscuit  in  the  tin  for  his 


QO 


BY    REEF    AND    PAL\i 

wife.  Then,  with  the  ragged  sail 
fluttering  to  the  wind,  Langton  headed 
the  boat  through  the  passage  into  the 
glassy  waters  of  the  lagoon,  and  the 
two  tottering  men,  leading  the  woman 
between  them,  sought  the  shelter  of  a 
thicket  scrub,  impenetrable  to  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  and  slept. 

And  then  for  a  week  Enderby  went 
and  scoured  the  reefs  for  food  for 
her. 

One  day  at  noon  Enderby  awoke. 
The  woman  still  slept  heavily,  the 
first  sign  of  returning  strength  show- 
ing as  a  faint  tinge  in  the  pallor 
of  her  cheek.  Langton  was  gone. 
A  sudden  chill  passed  over  him — had 
Langton  taken  the  boat  and  left  them 
to  die  on  lonely  Ducie  ?  With  hasty 
step  Enderby  hurried  to  the  beach. 
The  boat  was  there,  safe.  And  at  the 
farther  end  of  the  beach  he  saw 
Langton,  sitting  on  the  sand,  eating. 

"  Selfish  brute  ! "  muttered  En- 
derby. "  I  wonder  what  he*s  got  ? " 
Just  then  he  saw,  close  overhead,  a 
huge  ripe  pandanus,  and,  picking  up  a 
heavy,  flat  piece  of  coral,  he  tried  to 
ascend  the  triplicated  bole  of  the 
tree    and    hammer   off    some    of  the 


91 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

fruit.  Langton  looked  up  at  him,  and 
showed  his  white  teeth  in  a  mocking 
smile  at  the  futile  effort.  Enderby 
walked  over  to  him,  stone  in  hand. 
He  was  not  a  vindictive  man,  but  he 
had  grown  to  hate  Langton  fiercely 
during  the  past  week  for  his  selfish 
neglect  of  his  wife.  And  here  was 
the  fellow  gorging  himself  on  turtle- 
eggs,  and  his  tender,  delicate  wife 
living  on  shellfish  and  pandanus. 

"Langton,"  he  said,  speaking  thickly 
and  pretending  not  to  notice  the  re- 
mainder of  the  eggs,  "  the  tide  is  out, 
and  we  may  get  a  turtle  in  one  of  the 
pools  if  you  come  with  me.  Mrs. 
Langton  needs  something  better  than 
that  infernal  pandanus  fruit.  Her 
lips  are  quite  sore  and  bleeding  from 
eating  it.'* 

The  Inner  Nature  came  out, 
"  Are  they  ?  My  wife's  lips  seem  to 
give  you  a  very  great  deal  of  concern. 
She    has    not    said    anything    to  me. 

And  I  have  an  idea  ** the  look  in 

Enderby's  face  shamed  into  silence 
the  slander  he  was  about  to  utter. 
Then  he  added  coolly — "  But  as  for 
going  with  you  after  a  turtle,  thanks, 
I  won't.     IVe  found  a  nest  here  and 


92 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

have  had  a  good  square  feed.  If  the 
man-o'-war  hawks  and  boobies  hadn't 
been  here  before  me  Td  have  got  the 
whole  lot."  Then  he  tore  the  skin 
off  another  egg  with  his  teeth.. 

With  a  curious  guttural  voice 
Enderby  asked — "  How  many  eggs 
were  left  ? " 

"  Thirty  or  so — perhaps  forty.** 

"And  you  have  eaten  all  but 
those  ?  " — pointing  with  savage  con- 
tempt to  five  of  the  round,  white 
balls ;  "  give  me  those  for  your  wife.*' 

"  My  dear  man,  Louise  has  too 
much  Island  blood  in  her  not  to  be 
able  to  do  better  than  I — or  you — in 
a  case  like  ours.  And  as  you  have 
kindly  constituted  yourself  her  provi- 
dore,  you  had  better  go  and  look  for  a 
nest  yourself.'* 

"  You  dog  !  '* — and  the  sharp-edged 
coral  stone  crashed  into  his  brain. 

When  Enderby  returned,  he  found 
Mrs.  Langton  sitting  up  on  the 
creeper-covered  mound  that  over- 
looked the  beach  where  he  had  left 
Langton. 

"  Come  away  from  here,**  he  said, 
"  into  the  shade.  I  have  found  a  few 
turtle  eggs.** 


Q^ 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

They  walked  back  a  little  and  sat 
down.  But  for  the  wild  riot  in  his 
brain,  Enderby  would  have  noted  that 
every  vestige  of  colour  had  left  her 
face. 

"  You  must  be  hungry,"  he  thought 
he  was  saying  to  her,  and  he  placed 
the  white  objects  in  her  lap. 

She  turned  them  slowly  over  and 
over  in  her  hands  and  then  dropped 
them  with  a  shudder.  Some  were 
flecked  with  red. 

"  For  God's  sake,"  the  man  cried, 
"  tell  me  what  you  know  !  " 

"I  saw  it  all,"  she  answered. 

"  I   swear  to  you,   Mrs.  Lan " 

(the  name  stuck  in  his  throat)  **  I 
never  meant  it.  As  God  is  my 
witness,  I  swear  it.  If  we  ever  escape 
from  here  I  will  give  myself  up  to 
justice  as  a  murderer," 

The  woman,  with  hands  spread  over 
her  face,  shook  her  head  from  side  to 
side  and  sobbed.  Then  she  spoke. 
"  I  loved  him  once.  .  .  .  Yet  it  was 
for  me  .  .  .  and  you  saved  my  life 
over  and  over  again  in  the  boat.  All 
sinners  are  forgiven,  we  are  told.  .  .  . 
Why  should  not  you  be,  .  .  .  and  it 
was  for  me  you  did  it.  And  I  won't 
lei  you  give  yourself  up  to  justice  or 


BY    REEf    AND    PALM. 

any  one.    I'll  say  he  died  in  the  boat.*' 
And  then  the  laughter  of  hysterics. 

When,  some  months  later,  the 
'Josephine^  whaler,  of  New  London, 
picked  them  up  on  her  way  to  Japan, 
via  the  Carolines  and  Pelews,  the 
captain  satisfactorily  answered  the 
query  made  by  Enderby  if  he  could 
marry  them.  He  "  rayther  thought 
he  could.  A  man  who  was  used  ter 
ketchin'  and  killin'  whales,  the  power- 
fullest  creature  of  Almighty  Gawd's 
creation,  was  ekal  to  marryin'  a  pair 
of  unfortunit  human  beans  in  sich  a 
pre-carus  situation  as  theirs.** 

And,  by  the  irony  of  fate,  the 
Enderbys  {that  isn't  their  name)  are 
now  living  in  a  group  of  islands  where 
there's  quite  a  trade  done  in  turtle, 
and  whenever  a  ship's  captain  comes 
to  dine  with  them  they  never  have  the 
local  dish — turtle  eggs — for  dinner. 
"We  see  them  so  often,"  Enderby 
explains,  "  and  my  wife  is  quite  tired 
of  them.** 


95 


Long    Charley's     Good 
Little  Wife. 


HERE  was  the  island, 
only  ten  miles  away, 
and  there  it  had  been 
for  a  whole  week. 
Sometimes  we  had  got 
near  enough  to  see  Long 
Charley's  house  and  the 
figures  of  natives  walk- 
ingon  the  yellow  beach; 
and  then  the  westerly 
current  would  take  us 
away  to  leeward  again. 
But  that  night  a  squall 
came  up,  and  in  half  an 
hour  we  were  running 
down  to  the  land. 
When  the  lights  on  the 
beach  showed  up  we 
hove-to  until  daylight, 


97 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

and  then  found  the  surf  too  heavy  to 
let  us  land. 

We  got  in  close  to  the  reef,  and 
could  see  that  the  trader's  copra-house 
was  full,  for  there  were  also  hundreds 
of  bags  outside,  awaiting  our  boats. 
It  was  clearly  worth  staying  for.  The 
trader,  a  tall,  thin,  pyjama-clad  man, 
came  down  to  the  water's  edge,  waved 
his  long  arm,  and  then  turned  back 
and  sat  down  on  a  bag  of  copra.  We 
went  about  and  passed  the  village 
again,  and  once  more  the  long  man 
came  to  the  water's  edge,  waved  his 
arm,  and  retired  to  his  seat. 

In  the  afternoon  we  saw  a  native 
and  Charley  together  among  the  bags ; 
then  the  native  left  him,  and,  as  it 
was  now  low  tide,  the  kanaka  was  able 
to  walk  to  the  edge  of  the  reef,  where 
he  signalled  to  us.  Seeing  that  he 
meant  to  swim  off,  the  skipper  went 
in  as  close  as  possible,  and  backed  his 
fore-yard.  Watching  his  chance  for 
a  lull  in  the  yet  fierce  breakers,  the 
native  slid  over  the  reef  and  swam  out 
to  us  as  only  a  Line  Islander  or  a 
Tokelau  man  can  swim. 

"  How's  Charley  ?"  we  asked,  when 
the  dark  man  reached  the  deck. 


g8 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

''Who?  Charley?  Oh  he  fine, 
plenty  copra.  Tapa  !  my  bowels  are 
filled  with  the  sea — for  one  dollar  i 
Here  ariki  vaka  (captain)  and  you  tuhi 
tuhi  (supercargo),"  said  the  native, 
removing  from  his  perforated  and 
pendulous  ear-lobe  a  little  roll  of  leaf, 
"take  this  letter  from  the  mean  one 
that  giveth  but  a  dollar  for  facing  such 
a  galu  (surf).  Hast  plenty  tobacco  on 
board,  friends  of  my  heart  ?  Apa, 
the  surf!  Not  a  canoe  crew  could 
the  white  man  get  to  face  it.  Is  it 
good  twist  tobacco,  friends,  or  the  flat 
cakes  ?  Know  that  I  am  a  man  of 
Nanomea,  not  one  of  these  dog-eating 
people  here,  and  a  strong  swimmer  ; 
else  the  letter  had  not  come." 

The  supercargo  took  the  note.  It 
was  rolled  up  in  many  thicknesses  of 
banana-leaf,  which  had  kept  it  dry  : — 

"Dear  Friends, — I  have  Been  wait- 
ing for  you  for  near  5  months.  I  am 
Chock  full  of  Cobberah  and  Shark 
Fins  one  Ton.  I  am  near  Starved 
Out,  No  Biscit,  no  Beef,  no  flour,  not 
Eny thing  to  Eat.  for  god's  Saik  send 
me  a  case  of  Gin  ashore  if  you  Don't 
mean  to  Hang  on  till  the  sea  goes 
Down.     Not  a  Woman   comes  Near 


99 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

me  because  I  am  Run  out  of  Traid  so 
please  try  also  to  Send  a  Peece  of 
Good  print  as  there  are  some  fine 
Women  here  from  Nukunau  and  I 
think  I  can  get  one  for  a  wife  if  I  am 
smart.  If  you  Can't  take  my  Cobberah 
and  mean  to  Go  away  send  the  Squair 
face  ^  for  god's  saik  and  something  for 
the  Woman. — Your  obliged  Friend, 
Charles." 

We  parcelled  a  bottle  of  gin  round 
with  a  small  coir  line,  and  sent  it 
ashore  by  the  Nanomea  man.  Charley 
and  a  number  of  natives  came  to  the 
edge  of  the  reef  to  lend  a  hand  in 
landing  the  bearer  of  the  treasure. 
Then  they  all  waded  back  to  the 
beach,  headed  by  the  white  man  in 
the  dirty  pyjamas  and  sodden-looking 
/a/a  hat.  Reaching  his  house  he 
turned  his  following  away  and  shut 
the  door. 

"  I  bet  a  dollar  he  wouldn't  swap 
billets  with  the  angel  Gabriel  at  this 
partikler  moment,"  said  the  profane 
mate,  thoughtfully. 

We  started  weighing  and  shipping 
the  copra  next  day.     After  finishing 
*  Square-face  =  Hollands  gin. 


lOO 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 


up,  the  solemn  Charley  invited  the 
skipper  and  supercargo  to  remain 
ashore  till  morning.  His  great  trouble, 
he  told  us,  was  that  he  had  not  yet 
secured  a  wife,  '*  a  reg'lar  wife, 
y'know.**  He  had,  unluckily,  "  lost 
the  run "  of  the  last  Mrs.  Charley 
during  his  absence  at  another  island 
of  the  group,  and  negotiations  with 
various  local  young  women  had  been 
broken  off  owing  to  his  having  run 
out  of  trade.  In  the  South  Seas,  as 
in  Australia  and  elsewhere,  to  get  the 
girl  of  your  heart  is  generally  a  mere 
matter  of  trade.  There  were,  he  told 
us  with  a  melancholy  look,  "some  fine 
Nukunau  girls  here  on  a  visit,  but  the 
one  I  want  don't  seem  to  care  much 
about  stayin',  unless  all  this  new  trade 
fetches  her." 

"  Who  is  she  ? "  inquired  the 
skipper. 

"  Tibakwa*s  daughter." 

"  Let's  have  a  look  at  her,"  said  the 
skipper,  a  man  of  kind  impulses,  who 
felt  sorry  at  the  intermittency  of  the 
Long  One's  connubial  relations. 

The  tall,  scraggy  trader  shambled 
ro  the  door  and  bawled  out  "  Tibakwa, 
Tibakwa,  Tibakwa,  O  ! "  three  times. 

The    people,    singing    in    the    big 


lOI 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

moniep  or  town-house,  stopped  their 
monotonous  droning,  and  the  name  of 
Tibakwa  was  yelled  vociferously 
throughout  the  village  in  true  Gilbert 
Group  style.  In  the  Gilberts,  if  a 
native  in  one  corner  of  a  house  speaks 
to  another  in  the  opposite  he  bawls 
loud  enough  to  be  heard  a  mile  off. 
•  •  •  • 

Tibakwa  (The  Shark)  was  a  short, 
squat  fellow  with  his  broad  back  and 
chest  scored  and  seamed  with  an 
intricate  and  inartistic  network  of 
cicatrices  made  by  shark*s-teeth 
swords.  His  hair,  straight,  coarse 
and  jet-black,  was  cut  away  square 
from  just  above  his  eyebrows  to  the 
top  of  his  ears,  leaving  his  fierce 
countenance  in  a  sort  of  frame.  Each 
ear-lobe  bore  a  load — one  had*  two  or 
three  sticks  of  tobacco,  twined  in  and 
about  the  distended  circle  of  flesh, 
and  the  other  a  clasp-knife  and  wooden 
pipe.  Stripped  to  the  waist  he  showed 
his  muscular  outlines  to  perfection, 
and  he  sat  down  unasked  in  the  bold, 
self-confident,  half-defiant  manner 
natural  to  the  Line  Islander. 

"Where's  Tirau  ? '*  asked  the 
trader. 


I02 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  Here,"  said  the  man  of  ivounds, 
pointing  outside,  and  he  called  out  in 
a  voice  like  the  bellow  of  a  bull — 
"  Tirau  O,  nako  mai!^^  (Come  here  !) 

Tirau  came  in  timidly,  clothed  only 
in  a  ridi  or  girdle,  and  slunk  into  a 
far  corner. 

The  melancholy  trader  and  the 
father  pulled  her  out,  and  she  dumped 
herself  down  in  the  middle  of  the 
room  with  a  muttered  "  E  pudkdkd  te 
mat  an  /  "  (Bad  white  man). 

^*Fine  girl,  Charley,*'  said  the 
skipper,  digging  him  in  the  ribs. 
"  Ought  to  suit  you,  eh  !  Make  a  good 
little  wife." 

Negotiations  commenced  anew. 
Father  willing  to  part,  girl  frightened 
— commenced  to  cry.  The  astute 
Charley  brought  out  some  new  trade. 
Tirau's  eye  here  displayed  a  faint 
interest.  Charley  threw  her,  with  the 
air  of  a  prince,  a  whole  piece  of 
turkey  twill,  12  yards — value  three 
dollars,  cost  about  2s.  3d.  Tirau  put 
out  a  little  hand  and  drew  it  gingerly 
toward  her.  Tibakwa  gave  us  an 
atrocious  wink. 

"  She's  cottoned  !  **  exclaimed 
Chsfley. 


103 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

And  thus,  without  empty  and  hollow 
display,  were  two  loving  hearts  made 
to  beat  as  one.  As  a  practical  proof 
of  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  the 
bridegroom  then  and  there  gave  Tirau 
his  bunch  of  keys,  which  she  carefully 
tied  to  a  strand  of  her  ridi,  and, 
smoking  one  of  the  captain's  Manillas, 
she  proceeded  to  bash  out  the  mosqui- 
toes from  the  nuptial  couch  with  a 
fan.  We  assisted  her,  an  hour  after- 
wards, to  hoist  the  sleeping  body  of 
Long  Charley  therein,  and  telling  her 
to  bathe  his  head  in  the  morning  with 
cold  water  we  rose  to  go. 

"  Good-bye,  Tirau  !  "  we  said. 

"  Ttakapo,''  ^  said  the  Good  Little 
Wife,  as  she  rolled  up  an  empty 
square  gin  bottle  in  one  of  Charley's 
shirts  for  a  pillow,  and  disposed  her 
graceful  figure  on  the  floor  mats, 
beside  his  bed,  to  fight  mosquitoes 
until  daylight. 

»  "Good -night." 


104 


The     Methodical     Mr. 
Burr    of  Majuru. 


NE  day  Ned  Burr,  a 
fellow  trader,  walked 
slowly  up  the  path  to 
my  station,  and  with  a 
friendly  nod  sat  down 
and  watched  intently 
as,  with  native  assist- 
ance, I  set  about  salt- 
ing some  pork.  Ned 
lived  thirty  miles  from 
my  place,  on  a  little 
island  at  the  entrance 
to  the  lagoon.  He  was 
a  prosperous  man,  and 
only  drank  under  the 
pressure  of  the  mono- 
tony caused  by  the  non-arrival  of  a 
ship  to  buy  his  produce.     He  would 


lOS 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

then  close  his  store,  and,  aided  by  a 
number  of  friendly  male  natives,  start 
on  a  case  of  gin.  But  never  a  woman 
went  into  Ned's  house,  though  many 
visited  the  store,  where  Ned  bought 
their  produce,  paid  for  it  in  trade  or 
cash,  and  sent  them  oiF,  after  treating 
them  on  a  strictly  business  basis. 


Now  the  Marshall  Island  women 
much  resented  this.  Since  Ned's  wife 
had  died,  ten  years  previously,  the 
women,  backed  by  the  chiefs,  had 
made  most  decided,  but  withal  diplo- 
matic, assaults  upon  his  celibacy.  The 
old  men  had  respectfully  reminded 
him  that  his  state  of  singleness  was  a 
direct  slight  to  themselves  as  leading 
men.  If  he  refused  to  marry  again 
he  surely  would  not  cast  such  a  reflec- 
tion upon  the  personal  characters  of 
some  two  or  three  hundred  young 
girls  as  to  refuse  a  few  of  them  the 
position  of  honorary  wives  pro  tem,y 
or  until  he  found  one  whom  he 
might  think  worthy  of  higher  honours. 
But  the  slow-thinking,  methodical 
trader  only  opened  a  bottle  of  gin, 
gave  them  fair  words  and  a  drink  all 
round,    and    absolutely    declined    to 


1 06 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

open  any  sort  of  matrimonial  negotia- 
tions. 

•  •  •  • 

"  Fm  come  to  hev  some  talk  with 
you  when  youVe  finished  saltinV*  he 
said,  as  he  rose  and  meditatively 
prodded  a  junk  of  meat  with  his  fore- 
finger. 

'*  Right,  old  man,"  I  said.  "I'll 
come  now,"  and  we  went  into  the  big 
room  and  sat  down. 

"  Air  ye  game  ter  come  and  see  me 
get  married  ?  "  he  asked,  looking  away 
past  me,  through  the  open  door,  to 
where  the  surf  thundered  and  tumbled 
on  the  outer  reef. 

"  Ned,"  I  said,  solemnly,  "  I  know 
you  don^t  joke,  so  you  must  mean  it. 
Of  course  I  will.  Tm  sure  all  of  us 
fellows  will  be  delighted  to  hear  you're 
going  to  get  some  nice  little  carajx^  to 
lighten  up  that  big  house  of  yours 
over  there.     Who's  the  girl,  Ned  ? " 

"Le-jennabon." 

*'  Whew  !  "  I  said,  "  why,  she's  the 
daughter  of  the  biggest  chief  on 
Arhnu.  I  didn't  think  any  white 
man  could  get  her,  even  if  he  gave 
her  people  a  boat-load  of  dollars  as  a 
wedding-gift." 

*  An  unmarried  girl. 


107 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"Well,  no,"  said  Ned,  stroking  his 
beard  meditatively,  "I  suppose  I 
should  feel  a  bit  set  up  ;  but  two  years 
ago  her  people  said  that,  because  I 
stood  to  them  in  the  matter  of  some 
rifles  when  they  had  trouble  with  King 
Jibberick,  I  could  take  her.  She  was 
rather  young  then,  any  way,  but  IVe 
been  over  to  Arhnu  several  times,  and 
I've  had  spies  out,  and  damn  me  if  I 
ever  could  hear  a  whisper  against  her. 
Tm  told  for  sure  that  her  father  and 
uncles  would  ha'  killed  any  one  that 
came  after  her.  So  I'm  a-goin'  to 
take  her  and  chance  it." 

"  Ned,"  I  said,  "  you  know  your 
own  affairs  and  these  people  better 
than  I  do.  Yet  are  you  really  going  to 
pin  your  faith  on  a  Marshall  Island 
girl  ?  You  are  not  like  any  of  us 
traders.  You  see,  we  know  what  to 
expect  sometimes,  and  our  morals  are 
a  lot  worse  than  those  of  the  natives. 
And  it  doesn't  harrow  our  feelings 
much  if  any  one  of  us  has  to  divorce 
a  wife  and  get  another  ;  it  only  means 
a  lot  of  new  dresses  and  some  guzz- 
ling, drinking,  and  speechifying,  and 
some  bother  in  teaching  the  new  wife 
how  to  make  bread.  But  your  wife 
that  died  was  a  Manhikian — another 


lo8 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

kind.  They  don't  breed  that  sort 
here  in  the  Marshalls.  Think  of  it 
twice,  Ned,  before  you  marry  her." 

The  girl  was  a  beauty.  There  are 
many  like  her  in  that  far-away  cluster 
of  coral  atolls.  That  she  was  a  chiefs 
child  it  was  easy  to  see  ;  the  abject 
manner  in  which  the  commoner 
natives  always  behaved  themselves  in 
her  presence  showed  their  respect  for 
Le-jennabon.  Of  course  we  all  got 
very  jolly.  There  were  half  a  dozen 
of  us  traders  there,  and  we  were,  for 
a  wonder,  all  on  friendly  terms.  Le- 
jennabon  sat  on  a  fine  mat  in  the  big 
room,  and  in  a  sweetly  dignified  man- 
ner received  the  wedding  gifts.  One 
of  our  number,  Charlie  de  Buis, 
though  in  a  state  of  chronic  poverty, 
induced  by  steadfast  adherence  to 
square  gin  at  five  dollars  a  case,  made 
his  offerings — a  gold  locket  covering  a 
woman's  miniature,  a  heavy  gold  ring, 
and  a  pair  of  fat  cross-bred  Muscovy 
ducks.  The  bride  accepted  them  with 
a  smile. 

*'  Who  is  this  ?  "  she  asked,  looking 
at  the  portrait — "  your  white  wife  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  the  bashful  Charles, 
"another  man's.     That's  why  I  give 


109 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

it  away,  curse  her.     But  the  ducks  1 
bred  myself  on  Majuru." 

A  month  or  two  passed.  Then,  on 
one  Sunday  afternoon,  about  dusk,  I 
saw  Ned's  whale-boat  coming  over 
across  the  lagoon.  I  met  him  on  the 
beach.  Trouble  was  in  his  face,  yet 
his  hard,  impassive  features  were  such 
that  only  those  who  knew  him  well 
could  discover  it.  Instead  of  entering 
the  house  he  silently  motioned  me  to 
come  further  along  the  sand,  where 
we  reached  an  open  spot  clear  of 
cocoanuts.  Ned  sat  down  and  filled 
his  pipe.  I  waited  patiently.  The 
wind  had  died  away,  and  the  soft 
swish  and  swirl  of  the  tide  as  the 
ripples  lapped  the  beach  was  the  only 
sound  that  broke  upon  the  silence  of 
the  night. 

"You  were  right.  But  it  doesn't 
matter  now.  .  .  .'*  He  laughed  softly. 
*'  A  week  ago  a  canoe-party  arrived 
from  Ebon.  There  were  two  chiefs. 
Of  course  they  came  to  my  house  to 
trade.  They  had  plenty  of  money. 
There  were  about  a  hundred  natives 
belonging  to  them.  The  younger 
man    was    chief   of   Likieb — a   flash 


no 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

buck.  The  first  day  he  saw  Le- 
jennabon  he  had  a  lot  too  much  to 
say  to  her.  I  watched  him.  Next~ 
morning  my  toddy-cutter  came  and 
told  me  that  the  flash  young  chief 
from  Likieb  had  stuck  him  up  and 
drunk  my  toddy,  and  had  said  some- 
thing about  my  wife — you  know  how 
they  talk  in  parables  when  they  mean 
mischief.  I  would  have  shot  him  for 
the  toddy  racket,  but  I  was  waitin'  for 
a  better  reason.  .  .  .  The  old  hag  who 
bosses  my  cook-shed  said  to  me  as  she 
passed,  '  Go  and  listen  to  a  song  of 
cunning  over  there* — pointing  to  a 
clump  of  breadfruit  trees.  I  walked 
over — quietly.  Le-jennabon  and  her 
girls  were  sitting  down  on  mats.  Out- 
side the  fence  was  a  lad  singing  this — 
in  a  low  voice — 

"  *  Marriage  hides  the  tricks  of  lovers.' 

Le-jennabon  and  the  girls  bent  their 
heads  and  said  nothing.  Then  the 
devil's  imp  commenced  again — 

**  *  Marriage  hides  the  tricks  of  lovers.* 

Some  of  the  girls  laughed  and  whis- 
pered to  Le-jennabon.  She  shook 
,her  head,  and  looked  around  timo- 
rously.     Plain    enough,    wasn*t    it  ? 


Ill 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

Presently  the  boy  crept  up  to  the 
fence,  and  dropped  over  a  wreath  of 
yellow  blossoms.  The  girls  laughed. 
One  of  them  picked  it  up,  and  offered 
it  to  Le-jennabon.  She  waved  it 
away.  Then,  again,  the  cub  outside 
sang  softly — 

" '  Marriage  hides  the  tricks  of  lovers,' 

and  they  all  laughed  again,  and  Le- 
jennabon  put  the  wreath  on  her  head, 
and  I  saw  the  brown  hide  of  the  boy 
disappear  among  the  trees. 

"  I  went  back  to  the  house.  I 
wanted  to  make  certain  she  would 
follow  the  boy  first.  After  a  few 
minutes  some  of  Le-jennabon's  women 
came  to  me,  and  said  they  were  going 
to  the  weather  side — it*s  narrer  across, 
as  you  know — to  pick  flowers.  I  said 
all  right,  to  go,  as  I  was  going  to  do 
something  else,  so  couldn*t  come. 
Then  I  went  to  the  trade-room  and 
got  what  I  wanted.  The  old  cook- 
hag  showed  me  the  way  they  had 
gone,  and  grinned  when  she  saw  what 
I  had  slid  down  inside  my  pyjamas. 
1  cut  round  and  got  to  the  place.  I 
had  a  right  good  idea  where  it  was. 


112 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

The  girls  soon  came  along  the  path, 
and  then  stopped  and  talked  to  Le- 
jennabon  and  pointed  to  a  clump  of 
bread-fruit-trees  standing  in  an  arrow- 
rootpatch.  She  seemed  frightened — but 
went.  Half-way  through  she  stopped, 
and  then  I  saw  my  beauty  raise  his 
head  from  the  ground  and  march  over 
to  her.  I  jest  giv'  him  time  ter  enjoy 
a  smile,  and  then  I  stepped  out  and 
toppled  him  over.  Right  through  his 
carcase — them  Sharp's  rifles  make  a 
hole  you  could  put  your  fist  into. 

"  The  girl  dropped  too — sheer  funk. 
Old  Lebauro,  the  cook,  slid  through 
the  trees  and  stood  over  him,  and  said, 
*  U,  guk !  He's  a  fine-made  man,' 
and  gave  me  her  knife  ;  and  then  I 
collared  Le-jennabon  and " 

**  For  God's  sake,  Ned,  don't  tell  me 
you  killed  her  too  !  " 

He  shook  his  head  slowly. 

"  No,  I  couldn't  hurt  her.  But  I 
held  her  with  one  hand,  she  feeling 
dead  and  cold,  like  a  wet  deck-swab  ; 
then  the  old  cook-woman  undid  my 
flash  man's  long  hair,  and,  twining  her 
skinny  old  claws  in  it,  pulled  it  taut, 
while  I  sawed  at  the  chap's  neck  with 
my  right  hand.  The  knife  was  heavy 
and   sharp,   and  I   soon    got   the  job 


113 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

through.  Then  I  gave  the  thing  to 
Le-jennabon  to  carry. 

**  I  made  her  walk  in  front  of  me. 
Every  time  she  dropped  the  head  I 
slewed  her  round  and  made  her  lift  it 
up  again.  And  the  old  cook-devil 
trotted  astern  o'  us.  When  we  came 
close  to  the  tov^n  I  says  to  Le-jenna- 
bon ; 

"  *  Do  you  w^ant  to  live  ? ' 

" '  Yes/  says  she,  in  a  voice  like  a 
whisper. 

" '  Then  sing,*  says  I,  '  sing  loud — 

***  Marriage  hides  the  tricks  of  lovers," 

And  she  sang  it  in  a  choky  kind  of 
quaver. 

"  There  was  a  great  rush  o'  people 
ter  see  the  procession.  They  stood  in 
a  line  on  both  sides  of  the  path  and 
stared  and  said  nothin'. 

"  Presently  we  comes  to  where  all 
the  Likieb  chiePs  people  was  quar- 
tered. They  knew  the  head  and  ran 
back  for  their  rifles,  but  my  crowd  in 
the  village  was  too  strong,  and,  o' 
course,  sided  with  me,  and  took  away 
their  guns.  Then  the  crowd  gathers 
round    my  place,   and    I    makes    Le- 


114 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

jennabon  hold  up  the  head  and  sing 
again — sing  that  deviFs  chant. 

"'Listen/  I  says  to  the  people, 
Misten  to  my  wife  singing  a  love-song/ 
Then  I  takes  the  thing,  wet  and 
bloody,  and  slings  it  into  the  middle 
of  the  Likieb  people,  and  gave  Le- 
jennabon  a  shove  and  sent  her  in- 
side." 

I  was  thinking  what  would  be  the 
best  thing  to  say,  and  could  only 
manage  *' It*s  a  bad  business,  Ned." 

"  Bad  !  That's  where  you're 
wrong,"  and,  rising,  Ned  brushed  the 
sand  off  the  legs  of  his  pyjamas.  "It's 
just  about  the  luckiest  thing  as  could 
ha*  happened.  Ye  see,  it*s  given  Le- 
jennabon  a  good  idea  of  what  may 
happen  to  her  if  she  ain't  mighty  cor- 
rect. An'  it's  riz  me  a  lot  in  the 
esteem  of  the  people  generally  as  a 
man  who  hez  business  principles." 


115 


A  Truly  Great  Man, 


A   MID-PACIFIC    SKETCH. 


HEN      the      flag      of 
"Bobby"    Towns,    of 
Sydney,     was      still 
mighty   in   the    South 
Seas.      The   days   had 
not    come    in    which 
steamers    with    brass- 
bound      supercargoes, 
carrying  tin  boxes  and 
taking  orders,  like  mer- 
chants'    bagmen,     for 
goods  "  to  arrive,"  ex- 
ploited     the      EUice, 
Kingsmill,  and  Gilbert 
Groups.      BlufF-bowed 
old  wave-punchers  like 
the     Spec,     the     Lad;^ 
Alicia^  and  the   E,  K. 
Bateson  plunged    their 


117 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM 

clumsy  hulls  into  the  rolling  swell  of 
the  mid-Pacific,  carrying  their  "  trade  '* 
of  knives,  axes,  guns,  bad  rum,  and 
good  tobacco,  instead  of,  as  now,  white 
umbrellas,  paper  boots  and  shoes, 
German  sewing-machines  and  fancy 
prints — "zephyrs," the  smartly-dressed 
supercargo  calls  them,  as  he  submits  a 
card  of  patterns  to  Emilia,  the  native- 
teacher's  wife,  who,  as  the  first  Lady 
in  the  Land,  must  have  first  choice. 

In  those  days  the  sleek  native 
missionary  was  an  unknown  quantity 
in  the  Tokelaus  and  Kingsmills,  and 
the  local  white  trader  answered  all 
requirements.  He  was  generally  a 
rough  character — a  runaway  from 
some  Australian  or  American  whaler, 
or  a  wandering  Ishmael  who,  for 
reasons  of  his  own,  preferred  living 
among  the  intractable,  bawling,  and 
poverty-stricken  people  of  the  equa- 
torial Pacific  to  dreaming  away  his  days 
in  the  monotonously  happy  valleys  of 
the  Society  and  Marquesas  groups. 

Such  a  man  was  Probyn,  who  dwelt 
on  one  of  the  low  atolls  of  the  Ellice 
Islands.  He  had  landed  there  one 
day    from    a    Sydney  whaler   with    a 


u8 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

chest  of  clothes,  a  musket  or  two 
and  a  tierce  of  twist  tobacco  ;  with 
him  came  a  savage-eyed,  fierce-look- 
ing native  wife,  over  whose  shoulders 
fell  long  waves  of  black  hair ;  and 
a  child  about  five  years  old. 

The  second  mate  of  the  whaler, 
who  was  in  charge  of  the  boat,  not 
liking  the  looks  of  the  natives  that 
swarmed  around  the  new-comer,  bade 
him  a  hurried  farewell,  and  pushed 
away  to  the  ship,  which  lay-to  off  the 
passage  with  her  fore-yard  aback. 
Then  the  clamorous  natives  pressed 
more  closely  around  Probyn  and  his 
wife,  and  assailed  them  with  questions. 

So  far  neither  of  them  had  spoken. 
Probyn,  a  tall,  wiry,  scanty-haired 
man,  was  standing  with  one  foot  on 
the  tierce  of  tobacco  and  his  hands  in 
his  pockets.  His  wife  glared  defiantly 
at  some  two  or  three  score  of  reddish- 
brown  women  who  crowded  eagerly 
around  her  to  stare  into  her  face  ; 
holding  to  the  sleeve  of  her  dress  was 
the  child,  paralysed  into  the  silence 
of  fright. 

The  deafening  babble  and  frantic 
gesticulations  were  perfectly  explicable 
to  Probyn,  and    he    apprehended   no 


119 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

danger.  The  head  man  of  the  town 
had  not  yet  appeared,  and  until  he 
came  this  wild  license  of  behaviour 
would  continue.  At  last  the  natives 
became  silent  and  parted  to  the  right 
and  left  as  Tahori,  the  head-man,  his 
fat  body  shining  with  cocoa-nut  oil 
and  carrying  an  ebony-wood  club, 
stood  in  front  of  the  white  man  and 
eyed  him  up  and  down.  The  scrutiny 
seemed  satisfactory.  He  stretched 
out  his  huge,  naked  arm  and  shook 
Probyn's  hand,  uttering  his  one  word 
of  Samoan — Talofa!^  and  then,  in 
his  own  dialect,  he  asked  ;  "  What  is 
your  name,  and  what  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  Sam,"  replied  Probyn.  And  then, 
in  the  Tokelau  language,  which  the 
wild-eyed  people  around  him  fairly 
understood,  "  I  have  come  here  to  live 
with  you  and  trade  for  oil " — and  he 
pointed  to  the  tierce  of  tobacco. 

"  Where  are  you  from  ?  *' 

"  From  the  land  called  Nukunono, 
in  the  Tokelau." 

"Why  come  here?" 

"  Because  I  killed  some  one  there." 

"  Good  !  "  grunted  the  fat  man  ; 
"  there  are  no  twists  in  your  tongue  ; 

*  Lit.,  "  My  love  to  you,"  the  Samoan  salu- 
tation. 


120 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

but  why  did  the  boat  hasten  away  so 
quickly  ?  *' 

"They  were  frightened  because  of 
the  noise.  He  with  the  face  like  a 
fowFs  talked  too  much  '* — and  he 
pointed  to  a  long,  hatchet-visaged 
native,  who  had  been  especially  tur- 
bulent and  vociferous. 

**  Ha  !  "  and  the  fat,  bearded  face 
of  Tahori  turned  from  the  white  man 
to  him  of  whom  the  white  man  had 
spoken — "  is  it  thee,  Makoi  ?  And  so 
thou  madest  the  strangers  hasten  away ! 
That  was  wrong.  Only  for  thee  I  had 
gone  to  the  ship  and  gotten  many 
things.     Come  here  !  " 

Then  he  stooped  and  picked  up 
one  of  Probyn*s  muskets,  handed  it 
to  the  white  man,  and  silently  indi- 
cated the  tall  native  with  a  nod.  The 
other  natives  fell  back.  Niabong, 
Probyn*s  wife,  set  her  boy  on  his 
feet,  put  her  hand  in  her  bosom  and 
drew  out  a  key,  with  which  she  opened 
the  chest.  She  threw  back  the  lid, 
fixed  her  black  eyes  on  Probyn,  and 
waited, 

Probyn,  holding  the  musket  in  his 
left  hand,  mused  a  moment.  Then  he 
asked  : 


121 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"Whose  man  is  he?" 

**  Mine,"  said  Tahori  ;  "he  is  from 
Oaitupu,  and  my  bondman." 

"  Has  he  a  wife  ?  '* 

"  No  ;  he  is  poor  and  works  in  my 
puraka^  field." 

"  Good,"  said  Probyn,  and  he  mo- 
tioned to  his  wife.  She  dived  her 
hand  into  the  chest  and  handed  him 
a  tin  of  powder,  then  a  bullet,  a  cap, 
and  some  scraps  of  paper. 

Slowly  he  loaded  the  musket,  and 
Tahori,  seizing  the  bondman  by  his 
arm,  led  him  out  to  the  open,  and 
stood  by,  club  in  hand,  on  the  alert. 

Probyn  knew  his  reputation  de- 
pended on  the  shot.  The  ball  passed 
through  the  chest  of  Makoi.  Then 
four  men  picked  up  the  body  and 
carried  it  into  a  house. 

Probyn  laid  down  the  musket  and 
motioned  again  to  Niabong.  She 
handed  him  a  hatchet  and  blunt 
chisel.  Tahori  smiled  pleasantly, 
and,  drawing  the  little  boy  to  him, 
patted  his  head. 

Then,  at  a  sign  from  him,  a  woman 

*  A  coarse  species  of  taro  {arum  esculentum) 
growing  on  the  low-lying  atolls  of  tlie  mid- 
Pacific. 


122 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

brought  Niabong  a  shell  of  sweet 
toddy.  The  chief  sat  cross-legged 
and  watched  Probyn  opening  the 
tierce  of  tobacco.  Niabong  locked 
the  box  again  and  sat  upon  it. 

**Who  are  you  ?"  said  Tahori,  still 
caressing  the  boy. 

"  Niabong.  But  my  tongue  twists 
with  your  talk  here.  I  am  of  Naura 
(Pleasant  Island).  By  and  by  I  will 
understand  it." 

"  True.  He  is  a  great  man,  thy 
man/'  said  the  chief,  nodding  at 
Probyn. 

"A  great  man,  truly.  There  is 
not  one  thing  in  the  world  but  he 
can  do  it." 

**  E  mot^^  *  said  the  fat  man,  ap- 
provingly ;  "I  can  see  it.  Look  you, 
he  shall  be  as  my  brother,  and  thy 
child  here  shall  eat  of  the  best  in  the 
land." 

Probyn  came  over  with  his  two  hands 
filled  with  sticks  of  tobacco.  "Bring 
a  basket,"  he  said. 

A  young  native  girl  slid  out  from 
the  cocoanuts  at  Tahori's  bidding  and 
stood  behind  him,  holding  a  basket. 
Probyn  counted  out  into  it  two  hun- 
dred sticks. 

«  True. 


123 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM 

**  See,  Tahori.  I  am  a  just  man  to 
thee  because  thou  art  a  just  man  to 
me.  Here  is  the  price  of  him  that 
thou  gavest  to  me." 

Tahori  rose  and  beckoned  to  the 
people  to  return.  "  Look  at  this 
man.  He  is  a  great  man.  His  heart 
groweth  from  his  loins  upwards  to  his 
throat.  Bring  food  to  my  house 
quickly,  that  he  and  his  wife  and 
child  may  eat.  And  to-morrow  shall 
every  man  cut  wood  for  the  house,  a 
house  that  shall  be  in  length  six 
fathoms,  and  four  in  width.  Such 
men  as  he  come  from  the  gods." 


124 


The  Doctor  s  Wife. 

CONSANGUINITY FROM     A     POLYNESIAN 

STANDPOINT. 


HO  !  "  said  Lagisiva,  the 
widow,  tossing  her  hair 
back  over  her  shoulders, 
as  she  raised  the  heavy, 
fluted  tappa  mallet  in 
her  thick,  strong  right 
hand,  and  dealt  the 
tappa  cloth  a  series  of 
quick  strokes — "Oho!" 
said  the  dark  -  faced 
Lagisiva,  looking  up  at 
the  White  Man,  "be- 
cause I  be  a  woman 
dost  think  me  a  fool  ? 
I  tell  thee  I  know  some 
of  the  customs  of  the 
fapalagi — the  white  foreigners.    Much 


125 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

wisdom  have  ye  in  many  things;  but 
again  I  tell  thee,  O  friend  of  my  sons, 
that  in  some  other  things  the  people 
of  thy  nation,  ay,  of  all  white  nations, 
they  be  as  the  beasts  of  the  forest — 
the  wild  goat  and  pig — without  reason 
and  without  shame.  Tah  !  Has  not 
my  eldest  son,  Tui  Fau,  whom  the 
white  men  call  Bob,  lived  for  seven 
years  in  Sini  (Sydney),  when  he  re- 
turned from  those  places  by  New 
Guinea,  where  he  was  diver  ?  And 
he  has  filled  my  ears  with  the  bad  and 
shameless  customs  of  the  papalagi, 
Tah  !  I  say  again  thy  women  have 
not  the  shame  of  ours.  The  heat  of 
desire  devoureth  chastity  even  in  those 
of  one  blood." 

"  In  what  do  they  offend,  O  my 
mother  ? " 

''*' Jue !  Life  is  short;  and,  behold, 
this  piece  of  siapo  *  is  for  a  wedding 
present,  and  I  must  hurry  ;  but  yet 
put  down  thy  gun  and  bag  and  we 
shall  smoke  awhile,  and  thou  shalt 
feel  shame  while  I  tell  of  one  of  the 
papalagi  customs  —  the  marrying  of 
brother  and  sister." 

"Nay,    mother,"    said    the    White 

'  The  tappa  cloth  of  the  South  Seas,  made 
fi  cm  the  bark  of  the  paper  mulberry. 


126 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

Man,  "no:  brother  and  sister,  but 
only  cousins." 

"  Tah  !  "  and  the  big  widow  spat 
scornfully  on  the  ground,  "  those  are 
words,  words.  It  is  the  same  ;  the 
same  is  the  blood,  the  same  is  the 
bone.  Even  in  our  heathen  days  we 
pointed  the  finger  at  one  who  looked 
with  the  eye  of  love  on  the  daughter 
of  his  father's  brother  or  sister — for 
such  did  we  let  his  blood  out  upon 
the  sand.  And  I,  old  Lagisiva,  have 
seen  a  white  man  brought  to  shame 
through  this  wickedness.'* 

"  Tell  me,*'  said  the  White  Man. 

"He  was  z.fom^i  (doctor)  and  rich, 
and  came  here  because  he  desired  to 
see  strange  places,  and  was  weary  of 
his  life  in  the  land  of  the  papalagi. 
So  he  remained  with  us  and  hunted 
the  wild  boar  with  our  young  men, 
and  became  strong  and  hardy  and  like 
unto  one  of  our  people.  And  then, 
because  he  was  for  ever  restless,  he 
sailed  away  once  and  returned  in  a 
small  ship,  and  brought  back  trade 
and  built  a  store  and  a  fine  house  to 
dwell  in.  The  chief  of  this  town 
gave  him,  for  friendship,  a  piece  of 
land  over  there  by  the  Vai-ta-milo,  and 


T27 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

thus  did  he  become  a  still  greater 
man  ;  his  store  was  full  of  rich  goods, 
and  he  kept  many  servants,  and  at 
night-time  his  house  was  as  a  blaze  of 
fire,  for  the  young  men  and  women 
would  go  there  and  sing  and  dance, 
and  he  had  many  lovers  amongst  our 
young  girls. 

"  I,  old  Lagisiva,  who  am  now  fat 
and  dull,  was  one.  Oho,  he  was  a 
man  of  plenty  I  Did  a  girl  but  look 
out  between  her  eyelashes  at  a  piece 
of  print  in  the  store,  lo  !  it  was 
hers,  even  though  it  measured  twenty 
fathoms  in  length — and  print  was  a 
dollar  a  fathom  in  those  days.  So 
every  girl — even  those  from  parts  far 
off — cast  herself  in  his  way,  that  he 
might  notice  her.  And  he  was  gene- 
rous to  all  alike — in  that  alone  was 
wisdom. 

"Once  or  twice  every  year  the  ships 
brought  him  letters.  And  he  would 
count  the  marks  on  the  paper,  and 
tell  us  that  they  came  from  a  woman 
of  the  papalagi — his  cousin,  as  you 
would  call  her — whose  picture  was 
hung  over  his  table.  She  was  for  ever 
smiling  down  upon  us,  and  her  eyes 
were  his  eyes,  and  if  he  but  smiled 


128 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

ihen  were  the  two  alike — alike  as  arc 
two  children  of  the  same  birth.  When 
three  years  had  come  and  gone  a  ship 
brought  him  a  letter,  and  that  night 
there  were  many  of  us  at  his  house, 
men  and  women,  to  ta-lk  with  the 
people  from  the  ship.  When  those 
had  gone  away  to  their  sleep,  he 
called  to  the  chief  and  said  : — 

"  *  In  two  days,  O  my  friend,  I  set 
out  for  my  land  again  ;  but  to  return, 
for  much  do  I  desire  to  remain  with 
you  always.  In  six  months  I  shall  be 
here  again.  And  there  is  one  thing 
I  would  speak  of.  I  shall  bring  back 
a  white  wife,  a  woman  of  my  own 
country  whom  I  have  loved  for  many 
years.* 

"  Then  Tamaali'i,  the  chief,  who  was 
my  father's  father  and  very  old,  said, 
*She  shall  be  my  daughter,  and  wel- 
come,' and  many  of  us  young  girls  said 
also,  *she  shall  be  welcome ' — although 
we  felt  sorrowful  to  lose  a  man  so  good 
and  open-handed.  And  then  did  the 
fomdi  call  to  the  old  chief  and  two 
others,  and  they  entered  the  store  and 
lighted  lamps,  and  presently  a  man 
went  forth  into  the  village  and  cried 
aloud,  *Come  hither,  all  people,  and 
listen  ! '     So,    many   hundreds    came. 


129 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

and  we  all  went  in  and  found  the 
floor  covered  with  some  of  everything 
that  the  white  man  possessed.  And 
the  chief  spoke  and  said  : 

" '  Behold,  my  people,  this  our  good 
friend  goeth  away  to  his  own  country 
that  he  may  bring  back  a  wife.  And 
because  many  young  unmarried  girls 
will  say,  "  Why  does  he  leave  us — are 
not  we  as  good  to  look  upon  as  this 
other  woman  ? "  does  he  put  these  pre- 
sents here  on  the  ground  and  these 
words  into  my  mouth — **  Out  of  his 
love  to  you,  which  must  be  a  thing 
that  is  past  and  forgotten,  the  wife 
that  is  coming  must  not  know  of  some 
little  things — that  is  papa/agi  custom.'*  * 

"And  then  every  girl  that  had  a 
wish  took  whatever  she  fancied,  and 
the  white  man  charged  us  to  say 
naught  that  would  arouse  the  anger 
of  the  wife  that  was  to  come.  And 
so  he  departed. 

"  One  hundred  and  ten  fat  hogs 
killed  we  and  roasted  whole  for  the 
feast  of  welcome.  I  swear  it  by  the 
Holy  Ones  of  God's  Kingdom — one 
hundred  and  ten.  And  yet  this  white 
lily  of  his  never  smiled — not  even  on 
us  young  girls  who  danced  and  sang 


130 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

before  her,  only  she  clung  to  his  arm, 
and,  behold,  when  we  drew  close  to 
her  we  saw  it  was  the  woman  in  the 
picture — his  sister  ! 

"And  then  one  by  one  all  those 
that  had  gathered  to  do  him  honour 
went  away  in  shame — shame  that  he 
should  do  this,  wed  his  own  sister, 
and  many  women  said  worse  of  her. 
But  yet  the  feast — the  hogs,  and  yams, 
and  taro,  and  fish,  and  fowls — was 
brought  and  placed  by  his  doorstep, 
but  no  one  spake,  and  at  night-time 
he  was  alone  with  his  wife,  till  he 
sent  for  the  old  chief,  and  reproached 
him  with  bitter  words  for  the  coldness 
of  the  people,  and  asked,  'Why  is 
this  ? ' 

•  •  •  • 

"And  the  old  man  pointed  to  the 
picture  over  the  table,  and  said,  'Is 
this  she — thy  wife  ?  * 

"'Ay,*  said  the  White  Man. 

" '  Is  she  not  of  the  same  blood  as 
thyself?' 

"  '  Even  so/  said  he. 

"'Then  shalt  thou  live  alone  in 
thy  shame,'  said  the  old  man  ;  and  he 
went  away. 

"  So,  for  many  months,  these  two 
lived.     He  found  some  to  work    for 


131 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

him,  and   some  young   girls   to   tend 

his  sister,  whom  he  called  his  wife, 

whilst  she  lay  ill  with  her  first  child. 

And  the  day  after  it  was  born,  some 

one  whispered,  'He  is  accursed!  the 

child  cries  not — it  is  dumb/     For  a 

week  it  lived,  yet  never  did  it  cry,  for 

the  curse  of  wickedness  was  upon  it. 

Then    the    white    man    nursed    her 

tenderly,  and   took  her  away  to  live 

in   Fiji  for  six  months.     When  they 

came  back  it  was  the  same — no  one 

cared  to  go  inside  his  house,  and  he 

cursed  us,  and  said  he  would   bring 

men  from  Tokelau  to  work  for  him. 

We    said    naught.       Then    in    time 

another  child  was  born,  and  it  was 

hideous  to  look   upon,  and  that   also 

died. 

•  •  •  • 

"  Now,  there  was  a  girl  amongst  us 
whose  name  was  Suni,  to  whom  the 
white  woman  spoke  much,  for  she 
was  learning  our  tongue,  and  Suni,  by 
reason  of  the  white  woman's  many 
presents,  spoke  openly  to  her,  and 
told  her  of  the  village  talk.  Then 
the  white  woman  wept,  and  arose 
and  spoke  to  the  man  for  a  long 
while.  And  she  came  back  to  Suni 
and  said,  'What    thou    hast   told    me 


132 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

was  in  my  own  heart  three  years  ago ; 
yet,  because  it  is  the  custom  of  my 
people,  I  married  this  man,  who  is  the 
son  of  my  father's  brother.  But  now 
I  shall  go  away.'  Then  the  white 
man  came  out  and  beat  Suni  with  a 
stick.  But  yet  was  his  sister,  whom 
he  called  his  wife,  eaten  up  with 
shame,  and  when  a  ship  came  they 
went  away  and  we  saw  her  not  again. 
For  about  two  years  we  heard  no 
more  of  our  white  man,  till  he  re- 
turned and  said  the  woman  was  dead. 
And  he  took  Suni  for  wife,  who  bore 
him  three  children,  and  then  they 
went  away  to  some  other  country — 
I  know  not  where." 

"  I  thank  thee  many,  many  times, 

0  friend  of  my  sons.  Four  children 
of  mine  here  live  in  this  village,  yet 
not  a  one  of  them  ever  asks  me  when 

1  smoked  last.  May  God  walk  with 
thee  for  this  stick  of  tobacco." 


i 


»33 


The   Fate    of  the 
''Alidar 


HE  other  day,  in  an 
Australian  paper,  I 
read  something  that 
set  me  thinking  of 
Taplin — of  Taplin  and 
his  wife,  and  the  fate 
of  the  Alida.  This 
is  what  I  read  : — 

"News  has  reached 
Tahiti  that  a  steamer 
had  arrived  at  Toulon 
with  two  noted 
prisoners  on  board. 
These  men,  who  are 
brothers  named  Ro- 
vique,  long  ago 
left  Tahiti  on  an 
island- trading  trip, 
and   when   the    vessel 


13: 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

got  to  sea  they  murdered  the  captain, 
a  passenger,  the  supercargo  (Mr. 
Gibson,  of  Sydney),  and  two  sailors, 
and  threw  their  bodies  overboard. 
The  movers  in  the  affair  were 
arrested  at  Ponape,  in  the  Caroline 
Islands.  The  vessel  belonged  to  a 
Tahitian  prince,  and  was  called  the 
Nuroahitiy  but  its  name  had  been 
changed  after  the  tragedy.  The 
accused  persons  were  sent  to  Manilla, 
From  Manilla  they  appear  now  to 
have  been  sent  on  to  France." 

We  were  lying  inside  Funafuti 
Lagoon,  in  the  Ellice  Group.  The 
last  cask  of  oil  had  been  towed  off  to 
the  brig  and  placed  under  hatches, 
and  we  were  to  sail  in  the  morning 
for  our  usual  cruise  among  the  Gilbert 
and  Kingsmill  Islands. 

Our  captain,  a  white  trader  from 
the  shore,  and  myself  were  sitting  on 
deck  "yarning"  and  smoking.  We 
lay  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
beach — such  a  beach,  white  as  the 
driven  snow,  and  sweeping  in  a  great 
curve  for  five  long  miles  to  the  north 
and  a  lesser  distance  to  the  south  and 
west. 

Right  abreast  of  the  brig,  nestling 


136 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

like  huge  birds'  nests  in  the  shade  of 
groves  of  cocoanut  and  breadfruit  trees, 
were  the  houses  of  the  principal  village 
in  Funafuti. 

Presently  the  skipper  picked  up  his 
glasses  that  lay  beside  him  on  the  sky- 
light, and  looked  away  down  to  lee- 
ward, where  the  white  sails  of  a  schooner 
beating  up  to  the  anchorage  were 
outlined  against  the  line  of  palms 
that  fringed  the  beach  of  Funafala — 
the  westernmost  island  that  forms  one 
of  the  chain  enclosing  Funafuti  Lagoon. 

"  It's  Taplin's  schooner,  right 
enough,"  he  said.  "  Let  us  go  ashore 
and  give  him  and  his  pretty  wife  a 
hand  to  pack  up." 

Taplin  was  the  name  of  the  only 
other  white  trader  on  Funafuti  besides 
old  Tom  Humphreys,  our  own  man. 
He  had  been  two  years  on  the  island, 
and  was  trading  in  opposition  to  our 
trader,  as  agent  for  a  foreign  house — 
our  owners  were  Sydney  people — 
but  his  firm's  unscrupulous  method 
of  doing  business  had  disgusted  him. 
So  one  day  he  told  the  supercargo  of 
their  vessel  that  he  would  trade  for 
them  no  longer  than  the  exact  time 
he  had  agreed  upon — two  years.     He 


137 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

had  come  to  Funafuti  from  the 
Pelews,  and  was  now  awaiting  the 
return  of  his  firm's  vessel  to  take  him 
back  there  again.  Getting  into  our 
boat  we  were  pulled  ashore  and 
landed  on  the  beach  in  front  of  the 
trader's  house. 

"Well,  Taplin,  here's  your  schooner 
at  last,"  said  old  Tom,  as  we  shook 
hands  and  seated  ourselves  in  the  com- 
fortable, pleasant-looking  room.  "  I 
see  you're  getting  ready  to  go." 

Taplin  was  a  man  of  about  thirty 
or  so,  with  a  quiet,  impassive  face  and 
dark,  deep-set  eyes  that  gave  to  his 
features  a  somewhat  gloomy  look, 
except  when  he  smiled,  which  was 
not  often.  Men  with  that  curious, 
far-oiF  look  in  their  eyes  are  not 
uncommon  among  the  lonely  islands 
of  the  wide  Pacific.  Sometimes  it 
comes  to  a  man  with  long,  long  years 
of  wandering  to  and  fro  ;  and  you 
will  see  it  deepen  when,  by  some  idle, 
chance  word,  you  move  the  memories 
of  a  forgotten  past — ere  he  had  even 
dreamed  of  the  existence  of  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  and  for  ever  dissevered 
himself  from  all  links  and  associations 
of  the  outside  world. 


138 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  I  am  nearly 
ready.  I  saw  the  schooner  at  daylight, 
and  knew  it  was  the  Alidad 

"  Where  do  you  think  of  going  to, 
Taplin  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Back  to  the  Carolines.  Nerida 
belongs  down  that  way,  you  know  ; 
and  she  is  fretting  to  get  back  again — 
otherwise  I  wouldn't  leave  this  island. 
IVe  done  pretty  well  here,  although 
the  people  I  trade  for  are — well,  you 
know  what  they  are.*' 

'*  Aye,"  assented  old  Humphreys, 
**  there  isn't  one  of  'em  but  what  is  the 
two  ends  and  bight  of  a — scoundrel ; 
and  that  supercargo  with  the  yaller 
moustache  and  womany  hands  is  the 
worst  of  the  lot.  I  wonder  if  he's 
aboard  this  trip  ?  I  don't  let  him 
inside  my  house ;  I've  got  too  many 
daughters,  and  they  all  think  him  a 
fine  man." 

Nerida,  Taplin's  wife,  came  out  to 
us  from  an  inner  room.  She  was  a 
native  of  one  of  the  Pelew  Islands,  a 
tall  slenderly  built  girl,  with  pale, 
olive  skin  and  big,  soft  eyes.  A 
flowing  gown  of  yellow  muslin — the 
favourite  colour  of  the  Portuguese 
blooded    natives     of    the    Pelews-— 


139 


\ 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

buttoned  high  up  to  her  throat,  draped 
her  graceful  figure.  After  putting 
her  little  hand  in  ours,  and  greeting 
us  in  the  Funafuti  dialect,  she  went 
over  to  Taplin,  and  touching  his  arm, 
pointed  out  the  schooner  that  was 
now  only  a  mile  or  so  away,  and  a 
smile  parted  her  lips,  and  the  star-like 
eyes  glowed  and  filled  with  a  tender 
light. 

1  felt  Captain  Warren  touch  my 
arm  as  he  rose  and  went  outside.  I 
followed. 


"  L ,**     said     Warren,    "  can't 

we  do  something  for  Taplin  ourselves. 
Isn't  there  a  station  anywhere  about 
Tonga  or  Wallis  Island  that  would 
suit  him." 

"  Would  he  come,  Warren  ?  He — 
or  rather,  that  pretty  wife  of  his — seems 
bent  upon  going  away  in  the  schoonei 
to  the  Carolines." 

"  Aye,"  said  the  skipper,  "  that's  it. 
If  it  were  any  other  vessel  I  wouldn't 
care."    Then  suddenly,  "  That  fellow 

Motley  (the    supercargo)  is  a  d 

scoundrel  —  capable  of  any  villainy 
where  a  woman  is  concerned.  Did 
you  ever  hear  about  old  Raymond's 
daughter,  down  at  Mangareva  ? " 


I4.0 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

I  had  heard.  Suffice  it  here  to  say 
that  by  means  of  a  forged  letter  pur- 
porting to  have  been  written  by  her 
father — an  old  English  trader  in  the 
Gambler  Group — Motley  had  lured 
the  beautiful  young  half-blood  away 
from  a  school  in  San  Francisco,  and  six 
months  afterwards  turned  her  adrift 
on  the  streets  of  Honolulu.  Raymond 
was  a  lonely  man,  and  passionately 
attached  to  his  only  child;  so  no  one 
wondered  when,  reaching  California 
a  year  after  and  finding  her  gone, 
he    shot   himself  in   his  room  at  an 

hotel. 

•  •  •  • 

"  I  will  ask  him,  anyway,**  I  said  ; 
and  as  we  went  back  into  the  house 
the  Alida  shot  past  our  line  of  vision 
through  the  cocoanuts,  and  brought  up 
inside  the  brig. 

"  Taplin,"  I  said,  "  would  you  care 
about  taking  one  of  our  stations  to  the 
eastward  ?  Name  any  island  you  fancy, 
and  we  will  land  you  there  with  the 
pick  of  our  '  trade  *  room.** 

"  Thank  you.  I  would  be  only  too 
glad — but  I  cannot.  I  have  promised 
Nerida  to  go  back  to  Babelthouap  or 
somewhere  in  the  Pelews,  and  Motley 
has  promised  to  land  us  at  Ponape,  in 


14T 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

the  Carolines.  We  can  get  away 
from  there  in  one  of  the  Dutch  firm's 
vessels." 

"I  am  very  sorry,  Taplin "  I 

commenced,  when  Captain  Warren 
burst  in  with — "  Look  here,  Taplin, 
we  haven't  got  much  time  to  talk. 
Here's  the  Jlidah  boat  coming,  with 
that  (blank  blank)  scoundrel  Motley 
in  it.  Take  my  advice.  Don't  go 
away  in  the  Alidad  And  then  he 
looked  at  Nerida  and  whispered  some- 
thing. 

A  red  spark  shone  in  Taplin's  dark 
eyes,  then  he  pressed  Warren's  hand. 

"I  know,"  he  answered,  "he's  a 
most  infernal  villain — Nerida  hates 
him  too.  But  you  see  how  I  am  fixed. 
The  Alida  is  our  only  chance  of  getting 
back  to  the  north-west.  But  he  hasn't 
got  old  Raymond  to  deal  with  in  me. 
Here  they  are." 

Motley  came  in  first,  hat  and  fan  in 
hand.  He  was  a  fine-looking  man, 
with  blue  eyes  and  an  unusually  fair 
skin  for  an  island  supercargo,  with  a 
long,  drooping,  yellow  moustache. 
Reidermann,  the  skipper,  who  fol- 
lowed, was  stout,  coarse,  red-faced,  and 
brutal. 


142 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  How  are  you,  gentlemen  ? "  said 
Motley,  affably,  turning  from  Taplin 
and  his  wife  advancing  towards  us  ; 
*'  Captain  Riedermann  and  I  saw  the 
spars  of  your  brig  showing  up  over 
the  cocoanuts  yesterday,  and  there- 
fore knew  we  should  have  the  plea- 
sure of  meeting  you." 

Warren  looked  steadily  at  him  for 
a  moment,  and  then  glanced  at  his 
outstretched  hand. 

"The  pleasure  isn't  mutual,  blarst 
you,  Mr.  Motley,''  he  said  coldly,  and 
he  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket. 

The  supercargo  took  a  step  nearer 
to  him  with  a  savage  glare  in  his  blue 
eyes.  "  What  do  you  mean  by  this. 
Captain  Warren  ?  " 

*'  Mean,"  and  the  imperturbable 
Warren  seated  himself  on  a  corner  of 
the  table,  and  gazed  stolidly  first  at  the 
handsome  Motley  and  then  at  the 
heavy,  vicious  features  of  Riedermann. 
"  Oh,  anything  you  like.  Perhaps  it's 
because  it's  not  pleasant  to  see  white 
men  landing  at  a  quiet  island  like  this 
with  revolvers  slung  to  their  waists 
under  their  pyjamas;  looks  a  bit  too 
much  like  Bully  Hayes'  style  for  me," 
and  then  his  tone  of  cool  banter  sud- 
denly   changed    to    that    of    studied 


143 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

insolence.  **  I  say.  Motley,  I  was 
talking  about  you  just  now  to  Taplin 
and  Nerida ;  do  you  want  to  know 
what  I  was  saying  ?  Perhaps  I  had 
better  tell  you.  I  was  talking  about 
Tita  Raymond — and  yourself." 


Motley  put  his  right  hand  under 
his  pyjama  jacket,  but  Taplin  sprang 
forward,  seized  his  wrist  in  a  grip  of 
iron,  and  drew  him  aside. 

"The  man  who  draws  a  pistol  in 
my  house,  Mr.  Motley,  does  a  foolish 
thing,"  he  said,  in  quiet,  contemptuous 
tones,  as  he  threw  the  supercargo's 
revolver  into  a  corner. 

With  set  teeth  and  clenched  hands 
Motley  flung  himself  into  a  chair, 
unable  to  speak. 

Warren,  still  seated  on  the  table, 
swung  his  foot  nonchalantly  to  and  fro 
and  then  commenced  at  Riedermann. 

"Why,  how's  this.  Captain  Rieder- 
man  ?  don't  you  back  up  your  super- 
cargo's little  quarrels,  or  have  you 
left  your  pistol  on  board  ?  Ah,  no, 
you  haven't.  I  can  see  it  there  right 
enough.  Modesty  forbids  you  putting 
a  bullet  into  a  man  in  the  presence  of 
a   lady,  eh?"     Then  slewing   round 


144 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

again  he  addressed  Motley,  "  By  God, 
sir,  it  is  well  for  you  that  we  are  in  a 
white  man's  house  and  that  that  man 
is  my  friend  and  took  away  that  pistol 
from  your  treacherous  hand;  if  you 
had  fired  at  me  /  would  have  *' looted'* 
you  from  one  end  of  Funafuti  beach  to 
the  other — and  Tve  a  damned  good 
mind  to  do  it  now,  but  won't,  as 
Taplin  has  to  do  some  business  with 
you." 

"That  will  do,  Warren,"  I  said. 
"  We  don't  want  to  make  a  scene 
in  Taplin's  house.  Let  us  go  away 
and  allow  him  to  finish  his  business." 

Still  glaring  angrily  at  Riedermann 
and  Motley,  Warren  got  down  slowly 
from  the  table.  Then  we  bade 
Taplin  and  Nerida  good-bye  and  went 
aboard. 

At  daylight  we  saw  Taplin  and 
his  wife  go  off  in  the  Alidads  boat. 
They  waved  their  hands  to  us  in  fare- 
well as  the  boat  pulled  past  tlie 
brig,  and  then  the  schooner  hove-up 
anchor,  and  with  all  sail  set  stood 
away  down  to  the  north-west  passage 
of  the  lagoon. 

A  year  or  so  afterward  we  were  on 


145 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

a  trading  voyage  to  the  islands  of  the 
Tubuai  Group,  and  were  lying  be- 
calmed, in  company  with  a  New 
Bedford  whaler.  Her  skipper  came 
on  board  the  brig,  and  we  started 
talking  of  Taplin,  whom  the  whale- 
ship  captain  knew. 

"  Didn*t  you  hear  ?  '*  he  said.  "  The 
Alida  never  showed  up  again. 
*  Turned  turtle,'  I  suppose,  some- 
where in  the  islands,  like  all  those 
slashing  over -masted  Trisco  -  built 
schooners  do,  sooner  or  later." 

"Poor  Taplin,*'  said  Warren,  *' I 
thought  somehow  we  would  never  see 
him  again." 

Five  years  had  passed.  Honest  old 
Warren,  fiery-tempered  and  tn^- 
hearted,  had  long  since  died  of  fever 
in  the  Solomons,  and  I  was  supercargo 
with  a  smart  young  American  skipper 
in  the  brigantine  Palestine^  when  we 
one  day  sailed  along  the  weather-side 
of  a  tiny  little  atoll  in  the  Caroline 
Islands. 

The  Palestine  was  leaking,  and 
Packenham,  tempted  by  the  easy 
passage  into  the  beautiful  lagoon, 
decided  to  run  inside  and  discharge 
our  cargo  of  copra  to  get  at  the  leak. 


246 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

The  island  had  but  very  few  in- 
habitants— perhaps  ten  or  twelve  men 
and  double  that  number  of  women 
and  children.  No  ship,  they  told  us, 
had  ever  entered  the  lagoon  but  Bully 
Hayes's  brig,  and  that  was  nine  years 
before.  There  was  nothing  on  the 
island  to  tempt  a  trading  vessel,  and 
even  the  sperm  whalers  as  they 
lumbered  lazily  past  from  Strong's 
Island  to  Guam  would  not  bother  to 
lower  a  boat  and  "  dicker ''  for  pearl- 
shell  or  turtle. 

At  the  time  of  Hayes*  visit  the 
people  were  in  sore  straits,  and  on  the. 
brink  of  actual  starvation,  for  although 
there  were  fish  and  turtle  in  plenty, 
they  had  not  the  strength  to  catch 
them.  A  few  months  before  a  cyclone 
had  destroyed  nearly  all  the  cocoa- 
nut  trees,  and  an  epidemic  followed 
it,  and  carried  off  half  the  scanty 
population. 

•  •  •  • 

The  jaunty  sea-rover — than  whom 
a  kinder-hearted  man  to  natives  never 
sailed  the  South  Seas— took  pity  on  the 
survivors,  especially  the  youngest  and 
prettiest  girls,  and  gave  them  a  pas- 
sage in  the  famous  Leonora  to  another 
island  where  food  was  plentiful.  There 


147 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

they  remained  for  some  years,  till  the 
inevitable  mal  du  pays  that  is  inborn 
to  every  Polynesian  and  Micronesian, 
became  too  strong  to  be  resisted  ;  and 
so,  one  day,  a  wandering  sperm  whaler 
brought  them  back  again. 

But  in  their  absence  strangers  had 
come  to  the  island.  As  the  people 
landed  from  the  boats  of  the  whale- 
ship,  two  brown  men,  a  woman  and  a 
child,  came  out  of  one  of  the  houses, 
and  gazed  at  them.  Then  they  fled  to 
the  farthest  end  of  the  island  and  hid. 

Some  weeks  passed  before  the  re- 
turned islanders  found  out  the  retreat 
of  the  strangers,  who  were  armed 
with  rifles,  and  called  to  them  to 
"  come  out  and  be  friends."  They  did 
so,  and  by  some  subtle  treachery  the 
two  men  were  killed  during  the  night. 
The  woman,  who  was  young  and 
handsome,  was  spared,  and,  from 
what  we  could  learn,  had  been  well 
treated  ever  since. 

"Where  did  the  strangers  come 
from  ?  *'  we  asked. 

That  they  could  not  tell  us.  But 
the  woman  had  since  told  them  that 
the  ship  had  anchored  in  the  lagoon 
because  she  was  leaking  badly  ;  and 
that  the  captain  and  crew  were  trying 


148 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

to  Stop  the  leak  when  she  commenced 
to  sink,  and  they  had  barely  time  to 
save  a  few  things  when  she  sank.  In 
a  few  days  the  captain  and  crew  left 
the  island  in  the  boat;  and  rather 
than  face  the  dangers  of  a  long  voyage 
in  such  a  small  boat,  the  two  natives 
and  the  woman  elected  to  remain  on 
the  island. 

"  That's  a  mighty  fishy  yarn,"  said 
Packenham  to  me.  "  I  daresay  these 
fellows  have  been  doing  a  little  cut- 
ting-ofF  business.  But  then  I  don't 
know  of  any  missing  vessel.  We'll 
go  ashore  to-morrow  and  have  a  look 
round.'* 

A  little  after  sunset  the  skipper 
and  I  were  leaning  over  the  rail 
watching  the  figures  of  the  natives  as 
they  moved  to  and  fro  in  the  glare  of 
the  fires  lighted  here  and  there  along 
the  beach. 

"  Hallo,"  said  Packenham,  "  here's 
a  canoe  coming,  with  only  a  woman 
in  it.  By  thunder  she's  travelling, 
too,  and  coming  straight  for  the  ship." 

A  few  minutes  more  and  the  canoe 
was  alongside.  The  woman  hastily 
picked  up  a  little  girl  that  was  sitting 
in  the  bottom,  looked  up,  and  called 
out  in  English — 


149 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

*'  Take  my  little  girl,  please.** 

A  native  sailor  leant  over  the  bul- 
warks and  lifted  up  the  child,  and  the 
woman  clambered  after  her.  Then 
seizing  the  child  from  the  sailor,  she 
flew  along  the  deck  and  into  the  cabin. 

She  was  standing  facing  us  as  we 
followed  and  entered,  holding  the  child 
tightly  to  her  bosom.  The  soft  light 
of  the  cabin  lamp  fell  full  upon  her 
features,  and  we  saw  that  she  was  very 
young  and  seemed  wildly  excited. 

"  Who  are  you  ?"  began  I,  when  she 
advanced,  put  out  a  trembling  hand 
to  me,  and  said,  "  Don't  you  know  me, 
Mr.  Supercargo  ?  I  am  Nerida,  Tap- 
lin's  wife."  Then  she  sank  on  a  seat 
and  sobbed  violently. 

We  waited  till  she  regained  her 
composure  somewhat,  and  then  I  said 
"  Nerida,  where  is  Taplin  ? " 

'*  Dead,"  she  said  in  a  voice  scarce 
above  a  whisper,  "  only  us  two  are 
left — I  and  little  Teresa." 

Packenham  held  out  his  hands  to 
the  child.  With  wondering,  timid 
eyes,  she  came,  and  for  a  moment  or 
two  looked  doubtingly  upwards  into 
the  brown,  handsome  face  of  the 
skipper,  and  then  nestled  beside  him 


150 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

For  a  minute  or  so  the  ticking  of 
the  cabin  clock  broke  the  silence,  ere 
I  ventured  to  ask  the  one  question 
uppermost  in  my  mind. 

"  Nerida,  how  and  where  didTaplin 
die?'' 

"  My  husband  was  murdered  at  sea," 
she  said  ;  and  then  she  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands. 

*' Don't  ask  her  any  more  now," 
said  Packenham,  pityingly,  *'  let  her 
tell  us  to-morrow." 

She  raised  her  face.  "  Yes,  I  will 
tell  you  to-morrow.  You  will  take 
me  away  with  you  will  you  not, 
gentlemen — for  my  child's  sake  ?  ** 

"  Of  course,"  said  the  captain, 
promptly.  And  he  stretched  out  his 
honest  hand  to  her. 


"  She's  a  wonderfully  pretty  woman," 
said  Packenham,  as  we  walked  the 
poop  later  on,  and  he  glanced  down 
through  the  open  skylight  to  where 
she  and  the  child  slept  peacefully  on 
the  cushioned  transoms,  "  how  prettily 
she  speaks  English  too  ;  do  you  think 
she  was  fond  of  her  husband,  or  was 
it  merely  excitement  that  made  her 
cry — native  women   are  as  prone  to 


151 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

be  as  hysterical  as  our  own  when 
under  any  violent  emotion." 

"  I  can  only  tell  you,  Packenham, 
that  when  I  saw  her  last,  five  years 
ago,  she  was  a  graceful  girl  of  eighteen, 
and,  as  full  of  happiness  as  a  bird  is  of 
song — she  looks  thirty  now  ;  and  her 
face  is  thin  and  drawn.  But  I  don^t 
say  all  for  love  of  Taplin." 

"That  will  all  wear  off  by  and 
by,**  said  the  skipper,  confidently. 

"  Yes,"  I  thought,  "  and  she  won't 
be  a  widow  long." 

Next  morning  Nerida  had  an  hour 
or  two  among  the  prints  and  muslin 
in  the  trade-room,  and  there  was  some- 
thing of  the  old  beauty  about  her 
when  she  sat  down  to  breakfast  with 
us.  We  were  to  sail  at  noon.  The 
leak  had  been  stopped,  and  Packen- 
ham was  in  high  good-humour. 

"  Nerida,"  I  inquired,  unthinkingly, 
**do  you  know  what  became  of  the 
Alida,     She  never  turned  up  again." 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  "  she  is  here, 
at  the  bottom  of  the  lagoon.  Will 
you  come  and  look  at  her." 

After  breakfast  we  lowered  the 
dingy,  the  captain  and  I  pulling. 
Nerida  steered  us   out    to  the  north 


I5« 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

end  of  the  lagoon  till  we  reached 
a  spot  where  the  water  suddenly- 
deepened.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  deep 
pool  some  three  or  four  hundred  feet 
in  circumference,  closed  in  by  a  con- 
tinuous wall  of  coral  rock,  the  top  of 
which  even  at  low  water,  would  be 
perhaps  two  or  more  fathoms  under 
the  surface. 

She  held  up  her  hands  for  us  to 
back  water,  then  she  gazed  over  the 
side  into  the  water. 

"Look,"  she  said,  "there  lies  the 
Jlidar 

•  •  •  • 

We  bent  over  the  side  of  the  boat. 
The  waters  of  the  lagoon  were  as 
smooth  as  glass  and  as  clear.  We 
saw  two  slender  rounded  columns  that 
seemed  to  shoot  up  in  a  slanting 
direction  from  out  the  vague  blue 
depths  beneath,  to  within  four  or  five 
fathoms  of  the  surface  of  the  water. 
Swarms  of  gorgeously-hued  fish  swam 
and  circled  in  and  about  the  masses 
of  scarlet  and  golden  weed  that 
clothed  the  columns  from  their  tops 
downward  and  swayed  gently  to  and 
fro  as  they  glided  in  and  out. 

A  hawk-bill  turtle,  huge,  black,  and 
misshapen,  slid  out  from  beneath  the 


IS3 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

dark  ledge  of  the  reef  and  swam 
slowly  across  the  pool,  and  then,  be- 
tween the  masts,  sank  to  the  bottom. 

"  'Twas  six  years  ago,"  said  Nerida, 
as  we  raised  our  heads. 

That  night,  as  the  Palestine  sped 
noiselessly  before  the  trade  wind  to  the 
westward  she  told  me,  in  the  old  Funa- 
futi tongue,  the  tragedy  of  the  Alida, 

"  The  schooner,"  she  said,  "  sailed 
very  quickly,  for  on  the  fifteenth  day 
out  from  Funafuti  we  saw  the  far-off 
peaks  of  Strong's  Island.  I  was  glad, 
for  Kusaie  is  not  many  days'  sail  from 
Ponape — and  I  hated  to  be  on  the  ship. 
The  man  with  the  blue  eyes  filled  me 
with  fear  when  he  looked  at  me  ;  and 
he  and  the  captain  and  mate  were 
for  ever  talking  amongst  themselves  in 
whispers. 

'*  There  were  five  native  sailors  on 
board — two  were  countrymen  of  mine, 
and  three  were  Tafitos.  * 

"  One  night  we  were  close  to  a  little 
island  called  Mokil,^  and  Taplin  and  I 
were  awakened  by  a  loud  cry  on  deck  ; 
my  two  countrymen  were  calling  on 
him    to   help    them.     He  sprang  on 

*  Natives  of  the  Gilbert  Islands. 
■  Duperrey's  Island. 


154 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

deck,  pistol  in  hand,  and,  behold  !  the 
schooner  was  laid  to  the  wind  with 
the  land  close  to,  and  the  boat  along- 
side, and  the  three  white  men  were 
binding  my  countrymen  with  ropes, 
because  they  would  not  get  into  the 
boat. 

"  *  Help  us,  O  friend  ! '  they  called 
to  my  husband  in  their  own  tongue  ; 
*the  white  men  say  that  if  we  go  not 
ashore  here  at  Mokil  they  will  kill 
us.  Help  us — for  they  mean  evil  to 
thee  and  Nerida.  He  with  the  yellow 
moustache  wants  her  for  his  wife.' 

"  There  were  quick  fierce  words, 
and  then  my  husband  struck  Motley 
on  the  head  with  his  pistol  and  felled 
him,  and  then  pointed  it  at  the  mate 
and  the  captain,  and  made  them  untie 
the  men,  and  called  to  the  two  Tafito 
sailors  who  were  in  the  boat  to  let 
her  tow  astern  till  morning. 

"  His  face  was  white  with  the  rage 
that  burned  in  him,  and  all  that  night 
he  walked  to  and  fro  and  let  me  sleep 
on  the  deck  near  him. 

" '  To-morrow,*  he  said,  *  I  will 
make  this  captain  land  us  on  Mokil  * — 
it  was  for  that  he  would  not  let  the 
sailors  come  up  from  the  boat. 

**  At  dawn  I  slept  soundly.    Then  I 


155 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

awoke  with  a  cry  of  fear,  for  I  heard 
a  shot,  and  then  a  groan,  and  my  hus- 
band fell  across  me,  and  the  blood 
poured  out  of  his  mouth  and  ran  down 
my  arms  and  neck.  I  struggled  to 
rise  and  he  tried  to  draw  his  pistol, 
but  the  man  with  yellow  hair  and  blue 
eyes,  who  stood  over  him,  stabbed 
him  twice  in  the  back.  Then  the 
captain  and  mate  seized  him  by  the 
arms  and  lifted  him  up.  As  his  head 
fell  back  I  saw  there  was  blood 
streaming  from  a  hole  in  his  chest.*' 

She  ceased,  and  leant  her  cheek 
against  the  face  of  the  little  girl,  who 
looked  in  childish  wonder  at  the  tears 
that  streamed  down  her  mother's  face. 

"  They  cast  him  over  into  the  sea 
with  life  yet  in  him — and  ere  he  sank. 
Motley  (that  devil  with  the  blue  eyes) 
stood  with  one  foot  on  the  rail  and 
fired  another  shot,  and  laughed  when 
he  saw  the  bullet  strike.  Then  he 
and  the  other  two  talked. 

" '  Let  us  finish  these  Pelew  men, 
ere  mischief  come  of  it,'  said  Reider- 
mann,  the  captain. 

"  But  the  others  dissuaded  him. 
There  was  time  enough,  they  said,  to 
kill  them.     And  if  they  killed  them 


iS6 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

now,  there  would  be  but  three  sailors 
to  work  the  ship.  And  Motley  looked 
at  me  and  laughed,  and  said  he,  for 
one,  would  do  no  sailor^s  work  yet 
awhile. 

"  Then  they  all  trooped  below,  and 
took  me  with  them — me,  with  my 
husband's  blood  not  yet  dried  on  my 
hands  and  bosom.  They  made  me  get 
liquor  for  them  to  drink,  and  they 
drank  and  laughed,  and  Motley  put 
his  bloodied  hand  around  my  waist 
and  kissed  me,  and  the  others  laughed 
still  more. 

"  In  a  little  while  Riedermann  and 
the  mate  were  so  drunken  that  no 
words  came  from  them,  and  they  fell 
on  the  cabin  floor.  Then  Motley,  who 
could  stand,  but  staggered  as  he 
walked,  came  and  sat  beside  me  and 
kissed  me  again,  and  said  he  had 
always  loved  me  ;  but  1  pointed  to  the 
blood  of  my  husband  that  stained  my 
skin  and  clotted  my  hair  together,  and 
besought  him  to  first  let  me  wash  it 
away. 

" '  Wash  it  there,'  he  said,  and 
pointed  to  his  cabin. 

"  *  Nay,*  said  I,  '  see  my  hair.  Let 
'me  then  go  on  deck,  and  I  can  pour 
water  over  my  head.' 


SS7 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  But  he  held  my  hand  tightly  as  we 
came  up,  and  my  heart  died  within 
me ;  for  it  was  in  my  mind  to  spring 
overboard  and  follow  my  husband. 

"  He  called  to  one  of  the  Tafito 
men  to  bring  water,  but  none  came ; 
for  fhey,  too,  were  drunken  with 
liquor  they  had  stolen  from  the  hold, 
where  there  was  plenty  in  red  cases 
and  white  cases — gin  and  brandy. 

"But  my  two  countrymen  were 
sober;  one  of  them  steered  the  ship, 
and  the  other  stood  beside  him  with 
an  axe  in  his  hand,  for  they  feared 
the  Tafito  men,  who  are  devils  when 
they  drink  grog. 

"  '  Get  some  water,'  said  Motley,  to 
Juan — he  who  held  the  axe  ;  and,  as 
he  brought  it,  he  said,  *How  is  it, 
tatooed  dog,  that  thou  art  so  slow  to 
move  ? '  and  he  struck  him  in  the  teeth, 
and  as  he  struck  he  fell. 

**  Ah  !  that  was  my  time  !  Ere  he 
could  rise  I  sprang  at  him,  and  Juan 
raised  the  axe  and  struck  off  his  right 
foot ;  and  then  Liro,  the  man  who 
steered,  handed  me  his  knife.  It  was 
a  sharp  knife,  and  I  stabbed  him,  even 
as  he  had  stabbed  my  husband,  till  my 
arm  was  tired,  and  all  my  hate  of  him 
had  died  away  in  my  heart. 


158 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  There  was  quick  work  then.  My 
two  countrymen  went  below  into  the 
cabin  and  took  Motley*s  pistol  from 
the  table  ;  .  .  .  then  I  heard  two  shots. 

"  Guk  !  He  was  a  fat,  heavy  man, 
that  Riedermann,  the  captain  ;  the 
three  of  us  could  scarce  drag  him  up 
on  deck  and  cast  him  over  the  side, 
with  the  other  two. 

"  Then  Juan  and  Liro  talked  and 
said  *  Now  for  these  Tafito  men  ;  they 
too  must  die.*  They  brought  up  rifles 
and  went  to  the  fore-part  of  the 
schooner  where  the  Tafito  men  lay  in 
a  drunken  sleep  and  shot  them  dead. 

"  In  two  more  days  we  saw  land — - 
the  island  we  have  left  but  now,  and 
because  that  there  were  no  people 
living  there — only  empty  houses  could 
we  see — Juan  and  Liro  sailed  the 
schooner  into  the  lagoon. 

"  We  took  such  things  on  shore  as 
we  needed,  and  then  Juan  and  Liro 
cut  away  the  topmasts  and  towed 
the  schooner  to  the  deep  pool,  where 
they  made  holes  in  her,  so  that  she 
sank,  away  out  of  the  sight  of  men. 

"Juan  and  Lire  were  kind  to  me, 
and  when  my  child  was  born  five 
months  after  we  landed,  they  cared  for 


X59 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM 

mc    tenderly,  so  that  I  soon   became 
strong  and  well. 

"  Only  two  ships  did  we  ever  see, 
but  they  passed  far-ofF  like  clouds 
upon  the  sea-rim;  and  we  thought  to 
live  and  die  there  by  ourselves.  Then 
there  came  a  ship,  bringing  back  the 
people  who  had  once  lived  there. 
They  killed  Juan  and  Liro,  but  let 
me  and  the  child  live.  The  rest  I 
have  told  you  .  .  .  how  is  this  captain 
named  ?  .  .  .  He  is  a  handsome  man 
and  I  like  him." 

We  landed  Nerida  at  Yap,  in  the 
Western  Carolines.  A  year  after- 
wards, when  I  left  the  Palestine^  I 
heard  that  Packenham  had  given  up 
the  sea,  was  trading  in  the  Pelew 
Group,  and  was  permanently  married, 
and  that  his  wife  was  the  only  sur- 
vivor of  the  ill-fated  Alida, 


1 60 


The  Chilian  Bluejacket. 


A   TALE    OF    EASTER    ISLAND 


LONE,  in  the  most  soli- 
tary part  of  the  Eastern 
Pacific,  midway  be- 
tween the  earthquake- 
shaken  littoral  of  Chili 
and  Peru,  and  the 
thousand  palm -clad 
islets  of  the  Low  Ar- 
chipelago, lies  an  island 
of  the  days  "when  the 
world  was  young."  By 
the  lithe-limbed,  soft- 
eyed  descendants  of 
the  forgotten  and  mys- 
terious race  that  once 
quickened  the  land,  this 
lonely   outlier    of    the    isles    of    the 


l6l 


bY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

Southern  Seas  is  called  in   their  soft 
tongue  Rapa-nui,  or  the  Great  Rapa. 

A  hundred  and  seventy  years  ago 
Roggewein,  on  the  dawn  of  an  Easter 
Sunday,  discerned  through  the  misty, 
rr*^pic  haze  the  grey  outlines  of  an 
island  under  his  lee  beam,  and  sailed 
down  upon  it. 

He  landed,  and  even  as  the  grim 
and  hardy  old  navigator  gazed  upon 
and  wondered  at  the  mysteries  of  the 
strange  island,  so  this  day  do  the 
cunning  men  of  science  who,  perhaps 
once  in  thirty  years,  go  thither  in  the 
vain  effort  to  read  the  secret  of  an  ail- 
but  perished  race.  And  they  can  tell 
us  but  vaguely  that  the  stupendous 
existing  evidences  of  past  glories  are 
of  immense  and  untold  age,  and  show 
their  designers  to  have  been  co-eval 
with  the  builders  of  the  buried  cities 
of  Mexico  and  Peru  ;  beyond  that  they 
can  tell  us  nothing. 

Who  can  solve  the  problem  ?  What 
manner  of  an  island  king  was  he  who 
ruled  the  builders  of  the  great  terraced 
platforms  of  stone,  the  carvers  of  the 
huge  blocks  of  lava,  the  hewers-out 
with  rudest  tools  of  the  Sphinx-like 
images    of     trachyte    whose     square 


162 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

massive,  and  disdainful  faces  have  for 
unnumbered  centuries  gazed  upwards 
and  outwards  over  the  rolling,  sailless 
swell  of  the  mid-Pacific  ? 

•  •  •  • 

And  the  people  of  Rapa-nui  of  to- 
day ?  you  may  ask.  Search  the  whole 
Pacific — from  Pylstaart,  the  southern 
sentinel  of  the  Friendlies,  to  the  one- 
time buccaneer-haunted,  far-away 
Pelews  ;  thence  eastward  through 
the  white-beached  coral  atolls  of  the 
Carolines  and  Marshalls,  and  south- 
wards to  the  cloud-capped  Marquesas 
and  the  sandy  stretches  of  the  Pau- 
motu — and  you  will  find  no  handsomer 
men  or  more  graceful  women  than  the 
light-skinned  people  of  Rapa-nui. 

Yet  are  they  but  the  survivors  of  a 
race  doomed — doomed  from  the  day 
that  Roggewein  in  his  clumsy,  high- 
pooped  frigate  first  saw  their  land  and 
marvelled  at  the  imperishable  relics  of 
a  dead  greatness.  With  smiling  faces 
they  welcomed  him — a  stranger  from 
an  unknown,  outside  world,  with  cut- 
lass at  waist  and  pistol  in  hand — as  a 
god ;  he  left  them  a  legacy  of  civili- 
sation— a  hideous  and  cruel  disease 
that  swept  through  the  amiable  and 


163 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

unsuspicious  race  as  an  epidemic,  and 
slew  its  thousands,  and  sealed  with 
the  hand  of  Death  and  Silence  the 
eager  life  that  had  then  filled  the 
square  houses  of  lava  in  many  a  town 
from  the  wave-beaten  cliffs  of  Terano 
Kau  to  Ounipu  in  the  west. 

Ask  of  the  people  now,  "  Whence 
came  ye  ?  and  whose  were  the  hands 
that  fashioned  these  mighty  images 
and  carved  upon  these  stones  ? "  and 
in  their  simple  manner  they  will 
answer,  "  From  Rapa,  under  the 
setting  sun,  came  our  fathers  ;  and 
we  were  then  a  great  people,  even  as 
the  oneone  "  of  the  beach.  .  .  .  Our 
Great  King  was  it,  he  whose  name  is 
forgotten  by  us,  that  caused  these 
temples  and  cemeteries  and  terraces 
to  be  built ;  and  it  was  in  his  time 
that  the  forgotten  fathers  of  our  fathers 
carved  from  out  of  the  stone  of  the 
quarries  of  Terano  Kau  the  great 
Silent  Faces  that  gaze  for  ever  up- 
ward to  the  sky.  .  .  .  Ai-a-ah  !  .  .  . 
But  it  was  long  ago.  .  .  .  Ah  !  a  great 
people  were  we  then  in  those  days, 
and  the  wild  people  to  the  West  called 
us  Te  tagata  te  pito  Henua  (the  people 
»  Sand. 


164 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

who  live  at  the  end  of  the  world).  ,  .  . 
and  we  know  no  more." 

And  here  the  knowledge  and  tradi- 
tions of  a  broken  people  begin  and 
end. 


I. 

A  soft,  cool  morning  in  November, 
187 — .  Between  Ducie  and  Pitcairn 
Islands  two  American  whaleships 
cruise  lazily  along  to  the  gentle 
breath  of  the  south-east  trades,  when 
the  look-out  from  both  vessels  see  a 
third  sail  bearing  down  upon  them. 
In  a  few  hours  she  is  close  enough  to 
be  recognised  as  one  of  the  luckiest 
sperm  whalers  of  the  fleet — the  brig 
Pocahontas,  of  Martha's  Vineyard. 

Within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the 
two  ships — the  Nassau  and  the  Dagget 
— the  new-comer  backs  her  fore-yard 
and  hauls  up  her  mainsail.  A  cheer 
rises  from  the  ships.  She  wants  to 
gam,  i.e.,  to  gossip.  With  eager 
hands  four  boats  are  lowered  from 
the  two  ships,  and  the  captains  and 
second  mates  of  each  are  racing  for 
the  Pocahontas, 


165 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

The  skipper  of  the  brig,  after 
shaking  hands  with  his  visitors  and 
making  the  usual  inquiries  as  to  their 
luck,  number  of  days  out  from  New 
Bedford,  &c.,  led  the  way  to  his 
cabin,  and,  calling  his  Portuguese 
steward,  had  liquor  and  a  box  of 
cigars  brought  out.  The  captain  of 
the  Pocahontas  was  a  little,  withered- 
up  old  man  with  sharp,  deep-set  eyes 
of  brightest  blue,  and  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  possessing  the  most  fiery  and 
excitable  temper  of  any  of  the  captains 
of  the  sixty  or  seventy  American 
whaleships  that  in  those  days  cruised 
the  Pacific  from  the  west  coast  of 
South  America  to  Guam  in  the 
Ladrones. 

After  drinking  some  of  his  potent 
New  England  rum  with  his  visitors, 
and  having  answered  all  the  queries, 
the  master  of  the  Pocahontas  inquired 
if  they  had  seen  anything  of  a  Chilian 
man-of-war  further  to  the  eastward. 
No,  they  had  not. 

.  •  •  • 

"  Then  just  settle  down,  gentlemen, 
for  awhile,  and  I'll  tell  you  one  of  the 
curiousest  things  that  I  ever  saw  or 
heard  of.  IVe  log8;ed  partiklers  of  the 
whole   business,   and  when   I  get   to 


i66 


BY    REEF    AND     PALM, 

Oahu  (Honolulu)  I  mean  to  nar-rate 
just  all  I  do  know  to  Father  Damon 
of  the  Honolulu  Friend,  Thar*s 
nothing  like  a  newspaper  fur  showin' 
a  man  up  when  he's  been  up  to  any 
onnatural  villainy  and  thinks  no  one 
will  ever  know  anything  about  it.  So 
just  listen  and  take  hold." 

The  two  captains  nodded,  and  he 
told  them  this. 

Ten  days  previously,  when  close  in 
to  barren  and  isolated  Sala-y-Gomez, 
the  Pocahontas  had  spoken  the  Chilian 
corvette  O'Higgins^  bound  from  Easter 
Island  to  Valparaiso.  The  captain  of 
the  corvette  entertained  the  American 
master  courteously,  and  explained  his 
ship's  presence  so  far  to  the  eastward 
by  stating  that  the  Government  had 
instructed  him  to  call  at  Easter  Island 
and  pick  up  an  Englishman  in  the 
Chilian  service,  who  had  been  sent 
there  to  examine  and  report  on  the 
colossal  statues  and  mysterious  carvings 
of  that  lonely  island.  The  English- 
man, as  Commander  Gallegos  said, 
was  a  valued  servant  of  the  Republic, 
and  had  for  some  years  served  in  its 
navy  as  a  surgeon  on  board  El  Almi- 
rante  Cochrane^  the  flagship.     He  had 


167 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

left  Valparaiso  in  the  whaleship  Com- 
boy  with  the  intention  of  remaining 
three  months  on  the  island.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  a  war  vessel  was  to 
call  and  convey  him  back  to  Chili. 
But  in  less  than  two  months  the 
Republic  was  in  the  throes  of  a 
deadly  struggle  with  Peru — here  the 
commander  of  the  O^Higgins  bowed 
to  the  American  captain,  and,  pointing 
to  a  huge  scar  that  traversed  his 
bronzed  face  from  temple  to  chin, 
said,  "in  which  I  had  the  honour  to 
receive  this,  and  promotion '' — and 
nearly  two  years  had  elapsed  ere  the 
Government  had  time  to  think  again 
of  the  English  scientist  and  his  mission. 
Peace  restored,  the  O^Higgins  was 
ordered  to  proceed  to  the  island  and 
bring  him  back ;  and  as  the  character 
of  the  natives  was  not  well  known, 
and  it  was  feared  he  might  have  been 
killed,  Commander  Gallegos  was  in- 
structed to  execute  summary  justice 
upon  the  people  of  the  island  if  such 
was  the  case. 

But,  the  Chilian  officer  said,  on 
reaching  the  island  he  had  found  the 
natives  to  be  very  peaceable  and  in- 
offensive, and,  although  much  alarmed 
at  the  appearance  of  his  armed  landing 


i68 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

party  from  the  corvette,  they  had  given 
him  a  letter  from  the  Englishman,  and 

had  satisfied  him  that  Dr.  Francis 

had  remained  with  them  for  some 
twelve  months  only,  and  had  then 
left  the  island  in  a  passing  whaleship, 
and  Commander  Gallegos,  making 
thein  suitable  presents,  bade  them 
good-bye,  and  steamed  away  for  Val- 
paraiso. 

This  was  all  the  polite  little  com- 
mander had  to  say,  and,  after  a  farewell 
glass  of  wine,  his  visitor  rose  to  go, 
when  the  captain  of  the  corvette 
casually  inquired  if  the  Pocahontas 
was  likely  to  call  at  the  island. 

"  I  ask  you,"  he  said  in  his  perfect 
English,  "  because  of  one  of  my  men,  a 
bluejacket,  who  deserted  there.  You, 
senor,  may  possibly  meet  with  him 
there.  Yet  he  is  of  no  value,  and  he 
is  not  a  sailor,  and  but  a  lad.  He  was 
very  ill  most  of  the  time,  and  this  was 
his  first  voyage.  I  took  him  ashore 
with  me  in  my  boat,  as  he  besought 
me  eagerly  to  do  so,  and  the  little 
devil  ran  away  and  hid,  or  was  hidden 
by  the  natives." 

"  Why  didn*t  you  get  him  back  ?  " 
asked  the  captain  of  the  Pocahontas, 


i6g 


BY    REEF   AND    PALM. 

*'  Por  Dios !  that  was  easy  enough, 
but  *' — and  the  commander  raised  his 
eyebrows  and  shrugged  his  shoulders 
— "  of  what  use  ?  He  was  no  use  to 
the  corvette.  Better  for  him  to  stay 
there,  and  perhaps  recover,  than  to 
die  on  board  the  0*Higgins  and  be 
thrown  to  the  blue  sharks.  Possibly, 
seiior,  you  may  find  him  well,  and  it 
may  suit  you  to  take  him  to  your  good 
ship  and  teach  him  the  business  of 
catching  the  whale.  My  trade  is  to 
show  my  crew  how  to  fight,  and  such 
as  he  are  of  no  value  for  that." 

Then  the  two  captains  bade  each 
other  farewell,  and  in  another  hour 
the  redoubtable  O^Higgins^  with  a 
black  trail  of  smoke  streaming  astern, 
was  ten  miles  away  on  her  course  to 
Valparaiso. 


A  week  after  the  Pocahontas  lay 
becalmed  close  in  to  the  lee  side  of 
Rapa-nui,  and  within  sight  of  the 
houses  of  the  principal  village.  The 
captain,  always  ready  to  get  a  **  green  " 
hand,  was  thinking  of  the  chances  of 
his  securing  the  Chilian  deserter,  and 
decided  to  lower  a  boat  and  try. 
Taking  four  men  with  him,  he  pulled 


170 


BY    REEF   A:^D    PALM. 

ashore   and  landed  at    the    village  of 
Hagaroa. 


II. 

Some  sixty  or  seventy  natives  clus- 
tered round  the  boat  as  she  touched 
the  shore.  With  smiling  faces  and 
outstretched  hands  they  surrounded 
the  captain  and  pressed  upon  him 
their  simple  gifts  of  ripe  bananas  and 
fish  baked  in  leaves,  begging  him  to 
first  eat  a  little  and  then  walk  with 
them  to  Mataveri,  their  largest  village, 
distant  a  mile,  v^rhere  preparations 
were  being  made  to  welcome  him 
formally.  The  skipper,  nothing  loth, 
bade  his  crew  not  to  go  too  far  away 
in  their  rambles,  and,  accompanied 
by  his  boatsteerer,  was  about  to  set 
off  with  the  natives,  when  he  remem- 
bered the  object  of  his  visit,  and  asked 
a  big,  well-made  woman,  the  only 
nat^'e  present  that  could  speak  English, 
"  Where  is  the  man  you  hid  from  the 
man-of-war  ? " 

•  •  •  • 

There  was  a  dead  silence,  and  for 
nearly  half  a  minute  no  one  spoke. 
The  keen  blue  eyes  of  the  American 


171 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

looked  from  one  face  to  another  in- 
quiringly, and  then  settled  on  the  fat, 
good-natured  features  of  Varua,  the 
big  woman. 

Holding  her  hands,  palms  upwards, 
to  the  captain,  she  endeavoured  to 
speak,  and  then,  to  his  astonishment, 
he  saw  that  her  dark  eyes  were  filled 
with  tears.  And  then,  as  if  moved 
with  some  sudden  and  sorrowful 
emotion,  a  number  of  other  women 
and  young  girls,  murmuring  softly  in 
pitying  tones,  "  E  mate  !  E  mat}!  '* ' 
came  to  his  side  and  held  their  hands 
out  to  him  with  the  same  supplicating 
gesture. 

The  captain  was  puzzled.  For  all 
his  island  wanderings  and  cruises  he 
had  no  knowledge  of  any  Polynesian 
dialect,  and  the  tearful  muteness  of 
the  fat  Varua  was  still  unbroken.  At 
last  she  placed  one  hand  on  his  sleeve, 
and,  pointing  landward  with  the  other, 
said,  in  her  gentle  voice,  "  Come,''  and 
taking  his  hand  in  hers,  she  led  the 
way,  the  rest  of  the  people  following 
in  silence. 

For  about  half  a  mile  they  walked 
behind  the  captain  and  his  boatsteerer 
and  the  woman  Varua  without  utter- 
«  "  Dead  I     Dead  !  " 


172 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

ing  a  word.  Presently  Varua  stopped 
and  called  out  the  name  of  "  Taku  " 
in  a  low  voice. 

A  fine,  handsome  native,  partly 
clothed  in  European  sailor's  dress, 
stepped  apart  from  the  others  and 
came  to  her. 

Turning  to  the  captain,  she  said, 
"This  is  Taku  the  Sailor.  He  can 
speak  a  little  English  and  much 
Spanish.  I  tell  him  now  to  come 
with  us,  for  he  hath  a  paper." 

Although  not  understanding  the 
relevancy  of  her  remark,  the  captain 
nodded,  and  then  with  gentle  insist- 
ence Varua  and  the  other  women 
urged  him  on,  and  they  again  set  out. 


A  few  minutes  more,  and  they  were 
at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  massive- 
stoned  and  ancient  papaku,  or 
cemeteries,  on  the  walls  of  which 
were  a  number  of  huge  images  carved 
from  trachyte,  and  representing  the 
trunk  of  the  human  body.  Some  or 
the  figures  bore  on  their  heads  crowns 
of  red  tufa,  and  the  aspect  of  all  was 
towards  the  ocean.  At  the  foot  of 
the  wall  of  the  papaku  were  a 
number  of  prone  figures,  with  hands 


173 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

and  arms  sculptured  in  low  relief,  the 
outspread  fingers  clasping  the  hips. 

About  a  cable  length  from  the  wall 
stood  two  stone  houses — memorials  of 
the  olden  time — and  it  was  to  these 
that  Varua  and  the  two  white  men, 
attended  now  by  women  only,  directed 
their  steps. 

The  strange,  unearthly  stillness  of 
the  place,  the  low  whispers  of  the 
women,  the  array  of  colossal  figures 
with  sphinx-like  faces  set  to  the  sea, 
and  the  unutterable  air  of  sadness  that 
enwrapped  the  whole  scene  overawed 
even  the  unimaginative  mind  of  the 
rough  whaling  captain,  and  he  expe- 
rienced a  curious  feeling  of  relief  when 
his  gentle-voiced  guide  entered  through 
the  open  doorway  the  largest  of  the 
two  houses,  and,  in  a  whisper,  bade 
him  follow. 

A  delightful  sense  of  coolness  was 
his  first  sensation  on  entering,  and 
then  with  noiseless  step  the  other 
women  followed  and  seated  themselves 
on  the  ground. 

Still  clasping  his  hand,  Varua  led 
him  to  the  farther  end  of  the  house 
and    pointed    to   a    motionless    figure 


174 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

that  lay  on  a  couch  of  mats,  covered 
with  a  large  piece  of  navy-blue  calico. 
At  each  side  of  the  couch  sat  a  young 
native  girl,  and  their  dark,  luminous 
eyes,  shining  star-like  from  out  the 
wealth  of  black,  glossy  hair  that  fell 
upon  their  bronzed  shoulders,  turned 
wonderingly  upon  the  stranger  who 
had  broken  in  upon  their  watch. 

Motioning  the  girls  aside,  Varua 
released  her  hold  of  the  white  man's 
hand  and  drew  the  cloth  from  off  the 
figure  and  the  seaman's  pitying  glance 
fell  upon  the  pale,  sweet  features  of  a 
young  white  girl. 

But  for  the  unmistakable  pallid  hue 
of  death  he  thought  at  first  that  she 
slept.  In  the  thin,  delicate  hands, 
crossed  upon  her  bosom,  there  was 
placed,  after  the  manner  of  those  of 
her  faith,  a  small  metal  crucifix.  Her 
hair,  silky  and  jet  black,  was  short 
like  a  man's,  and  the  exquisitely- 
modelled  features,  which  even  the 
coldness  of  death  had  not  robbed  of 
their  beauty,  showed  the  Spanish  blood 
that,  but  a  few  hours  before,  had  coursed 
through  her  veins. 

Slowly  the  old  seaman  drew  the 
covering  over  the  still  features,  and, 


175 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

with  an  unusual  emotion  stirring  his 
rude  nature,  he  rose,  and,  followed  by 
Varua,  walked  outside  and  sat  upon  a 
broken  pillar  of  lava  that  lay  under 
the  wall  of  the  fapa\u, 

•  •  •  • 

Calling  his  boatsteerer,  he  ordered 
him  to  return  to  the  beach  and  go  off 
to  the  ship  with  instructions  to  the 
mate  to  have  a  coffin  made  as  quickly 
as  possible  and  send  it  ashore  ;  and 
then,  at  a  glance  from  Varua,  who 
smiled  a  grave  approval  as  she  listened 
to  his  orders,  he  followed  her  and  the 
man  she  called  Taku  into  the  smaller 
of  the  two  houses. 

Round  about  the  inside  walls  of 
this  ancient  dwelling  of  a  forgotten 
race  were  placed  a  number  of  sea- 
men's chests  made  of  cedar  and 
camphor  wood — the  lares  zndipenates  of 
most  Polynesian  houses.  The  gravelled 
floor  was  covered  with  prettily-orna- 
mented mats  oifala  (the  screw-palm). 

Seating  herself,  with  Taku  the 
Sailor,  on  the  mats,  Varua  motioned 
the  captain  to  one  of  the  boxes,  and 
then  told  him  a  tale  that  moved  him 
— rough,  fierce,  and  tyrannical  as  was 
his  nature — to  the  deepest  pity. 


176 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 
III. 

"It  is  not  yet  twenty  days  since  the 
fighting  pahi  afi  (steamer)  came  here, 
and  we  of  Mataveri  saw  the  boat  full 
of  armed  men  land  on  the  beach  at 
Hagaroa.  Filled  with  fear  were  we  ; 
but  yet  as  we  had  done  no  wrong  we 
stood  on  the  beach  to  welcome.  And, 
ere  the  armed  men  had  left  the  boat, 
we  knew  them  to  be  the  Sipanioia 
from  Chili — the  same  as  those  that 
came  here  ten  years  ago  in  three  ships 
iind  seized  and  bound  three  hundred 
and  six  of  our  men  and  carried  them 
4way  foi  slaves  to  the  land  of  the  Tae 
Manu,  and  of  whom  none  but  four 
tver  reiurtied  to  Rapa-nui.  And  then 
we  trembled  again." 

(She  spoke  of  the  cruel  outrage  of 
1862,  when  three  Peruvian  slave-ships 
iook  away  c/ver  three  hundred  islanders 
to  perish  on  the  guano-fields  of  the 
Chincha  Islands.) 

"  The  chief  of  the  ship  was  a  little 
man,  and  he  called  out  to  us  in  the 
tongue  of  Chili,  '  Have  no  fear,'  and 
took  a  little  gun  from  out  its  case  of 
skin  that  hung  Ly  his  side  and  giving 
it  to  a  man  in  tho  ooat,  stepped  over 
«o  us  and  took  obr  Aands  in  his. 


m  M 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"  Is  there  none  among  ye  that  speak 
my  tongue  ?'*  he  said  quickly. 

"  Now,  this  man  here,  Taku  the 
Sailor,  speaketh  the  tongue  of  Chili, 
but  he  feared  to  tell  it,  lest  they  might 
take  him  away  for  a  sailor  ;  so  he 
held  his  lips  tight. 

'*  Then  I,  who  for  six  years  dwelt 
with  English  people  at  Tahiti,  was 
pushed  forward  by  those  behind  me 
and  made  to  talk  in  English  ;  and  lo  ! 
the  little  man  spoke  in  your  tongue 
even  as  quick  as  he  did  in  that  of 
Chili.  And  then  he  told  us  that  he 
came  for  Farani.* 

•  •  • 

"  Now  this  Farani  was  a  young 
white  man  of  Peretania  (England),  big 
and  strong.  He  came  to  us  a  year 
and  a  half  ago.  He  was  rich  and  had 
with  him  chests  filled  with  presents 
for  us  of  Rapa-nui  ;  and  he  told  us 
that  he  came  to  live  awhile  among  us, 
and  look  upon  the  houses  of  stone 
and  the  Faces  of  the  Silent  that  gaze 
out  upon  the  sea.  For  a  year  he 
dwelt  with  us  and  became  as  one  of 
ourselves  and  we  loved  him  ;  and  then 
because  no  ship  came  he  began  to 
weary  and  be  sad.  At  last  a  ship — like 
«  Frank. 


178 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM 

thine,  one  that  hunts  for  the  whale — 
came,  and  Farani  called  us  together, 
and  placed  a  letter  in  the  hands  of  the 
chief  at  Mataveri  and  said, '  If  it  so  be 
that  a  ship  cometh  from  Chili  give 
these  my  words  to  the  captain,  and  all 
will  be  well.*  Then  he  bade  us  fare- 
well and  was  gone. 

"All  this  I  said  in  quick  words,  and 
then  we  gave  to  the  little  fighting  chief 
the  letter  Farani  had  written.  When 
he  had  counted  the  words  in  the  letter 
he  said,  '  Bueno^  it  is  well,'  and  called 
to  his  men,  and  they  brought  out  many 
gifts  for  us  from  the  boat — cloth,  and 
garments  for  men  and  women,  and 
two  great  bags  of  canvas  filled  with 
tobacco.  Ai-a-ah  !  many  presents  he 
gave  us  ;  this  because  of  the  good 
words  Farani  had  set  down  in  the 
letter.  Then  the  little  chief  said  to 
•me,  '  Let  these  my  men  walk  where 
they  list,  and  I  will  go  with  thee  to 
Mataveri  and  talk  with  the  chief/ 

"  So  the  sailors  came  out  of  the 
boats  carrying  their  guns  and  swords 
in  their  hands,  but  the  little  chief, 
whose  avagutu  (moustache)  stuck 
out  on  each  side  of  his  face  like  the 
wings  of  a  flying-fish  when  it  leaps  in 


179 


BY     REEF    AND    PALM. 

terror  from  the  mouth  of  the  hungry 
bonito,  spoke  angrily,  and  they  laid  their 
guns  and  swords  back  in  the  boats, 

"  So  the  sailors  went  hither  and 
thither  with  our  young  men  and  girls ; 
and,  although  at  that  time  I  knew  it 
not,  she  who  now  is  not,  was  one  of 
them,  and  walked  alone. 

"  Then  I,  and  Taku  the  Sailor,  and 
the  little  sea-chief  came  to  the  houses 
of  Mataveri,  and  he  stayed  awhile  and 
spoke  good  words  to  us.  And  we, 
although  we  fear  the  men  of  Chili  for 
the  wrong  they  once  did  us,  were  yet 
glad  to  listen,  for  we  also  are  of  their 
faith. 

As  we  talked,  there  came  inside  the 
house  a  young  girl  named  Temeteri, 
whom,  when  Farani  had  been  with 
us  for  two  months,  he  had  taken 
for  wife,  and  she  bore  him  a  son. 
But  from  the  day  that  he  had  sailed 
away  she  became  sick  with  grief;  and 
when,  after  many  months,  she  had 
told  me  that  Farani  had  said  he  would 
return  to  her,  my  heart  was  heavy; 
for  I  know  the  ways  of  white  men 
with  us  women  of  brown  skins.  Yet 
I  feared  to  tell  her  he  lied  and  would 
return    no    more.      Now,    this    girl 


1 80 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

Temeteri  was  sought  after  by  a  man 
named  Huarani,  the  son  of  Heremai, 
who  desired  to  marry  her  now  that 
Farani  had  gone,  and  he  urged  her  to 
question  the  chief  of  the  fighting  ship 
and  ask  him  if  Farani  would  return. 

"So  I  spoke  of  Temeteri.  He 
laughed  and  shook  his  head,  and  said, 
*Nay,  Farani  the  Englishman  will 
return  no  more ;  but  yet  one  so 
beautiful  as  she,'  and  he  pointed  to 
Temeteri,  '  should  have  many  lovers 
and  know  no  grief.  Let  her  marry 
again  and  forget  him  ;  and  this  is  my 
marriage  gift  to  her,'  and  he  threw  a 
big  golden  coin  upon  the  mat  on  which 
the  girl  sat. 

"  She  took  it  in  her  hand  and  threw 
it  far  out  through  the  doorway  with 
bitter  words,  and  rose  and  went  away 
to  her  child. 

"  Then  the  little  captain  went  back 
to  the  boat  and  called  his  men  to 
him,  and  lo  I  one  was  gone.  Ah  !  he 
was  angry,  and  a  great  scar  that  ran 
down  one  side  of  his  face  grew  red 
with  rage.  But  soon  he  laughed  and 
said  to  us,  '  See,  there  be  one  of  my 
people  hidden  away  from  me.  Yet 
he  is  but  a  boy  and  sick  ;  and  I  care 


l8l 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

not  to  Stay  and  search  for  him.  Let 
him  be  thy  care  so  that  he  wanders  not 
away  and  perishes  among  the  broken 
lava  ;  he  will  be  in  good  hands  among 
the  people  of  Rapa-nui.'  With  that 
he  bade  us  farewell,  and  in  but  a 
little  time  the  great  fighting  ship  had 
gonfe  away  to  the  rising  sun. 

"All  that  day  and  the  next  we 
searched,  but  found  not  him  who  had 
hidden  away  ;  but  in  the  night  of  the 
second  day,  when  it  rained  heavily, 
and  Taku  (who  is  my  brother's  son) 
and  I  and  my  two  children  worked  at 
the  making  of  a  kupega  (net),  he 
whom  we  had  sought  came  to  the 
door.  And  as  we  looked  our  hearts 
were  filled  with  pity,  for  as  he  put  out 
his  hands  to  us  he  staggered  and  fell 
to  the  ground. 

"  So  Taku — who  is  a  man  of  a  good 
heart — and  I  lifted  him  up  and  carried 
him  to  a  bed  of  soft  mats,  and  as  I 
placed  my  hand  on  his  bosom  to  see 
if  he  was  dead,  lo  !  it  was  soft  as  a 
woman's,  and  I  saw  that  the  stranger 
was  a  young  girl  ! 

"  I  took  from  her  the  wet  garments 
and  brought  warm  clothes  of  mamoe 
(blankets),   and  Taku    made  a    great 


182 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

fire,  and  we  rubbed  her  cold  body  and 
her  hands  and  feet  till  her  life  came 
back  to  her  again,  and  she  sat  up  and 
ate  a  little  beaten-up  taro.  When 
the  night  and  the  dawn  touched  she 
slept  again. 

•  •  •  • 

"  The  sun  was  high  when  the  white 
girl  awoke,  and  fear  leapt  into  her  eyes 
when  she  saw  the  house  filled  with 
people  who  came  to  question  Taku 
and  me  about  the  stranger.  With 
them  came  the  girl  Temeteri,  whose 
head  was  still  filled  with  foolish 
thoughts  of  Farani,  her  white  lover. 

*'  1  went  to  her,  put  my  arm  around 
her,  and  spoke,  but  though  she  smiled 
and  answered  in  a  little  voice,  I  under- 
stood her  not,  for  I  knew  none  of  the 
tongue  of  Chili.  But  yet  she  leaned 
her  head  against  my  bosom,  and  her 
eyes  that  were  as  big  and  bright  as 
Fetuaho,  the  star  of  the  morning, 
looked  up  into  mine  and  smiled 
through  their  tears. 

•  •  •  • 

"  There  was  a  great  buzzing  of  talk 
among  the  women.  Some  came  to 
her  and  touched  hands  and  forehead, 
and  said,  'Let  thy  trembling  cease  ;  we 


183 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

of  Rapa-nui  will  be  kind  to  the  white 
girl.' 

"  And  as  the  people  thronged  about 
her  and  talked,  she  shook  her  head  and 
her  eyes  sought  mine  and  hot  tears 
plashed  upon  my  hand.  Then  the 
mother  of  Temeteri  raised  her  voice 
and  called  to  Taku  the  Sailor  and 
said,  *  O  Taku,  thou  who  knowest  her 
tongue,  ask  her  of  Farani,  my  white 
son,  the  husband  of  my  daughter,* 

"  The  young  girls  in  the  house 
laughed  scornfully  at  old  Pohere,  for 
some  of  them  had  loved  Farani,  who 
yet  had  put  them  all  aside  for  Teme- 
teri, whose  beauty  exceeded  theirs ; 
and  so  they  hated  her  and  laughed 
at  her  mother.  Then  Taku,  being 
pressed  by  old  Pohere,  spoke  in  the 
tongue  of  Chili — but  not  of  Temeteri. 

"Ah  !  She  sprang  to  her  feet  and 
talked  then,  and  the  flying  words 
chased  one  another  from  her  lips ;  and 
these  things  told  she  to  Taku  : — She 
had  hidden  among  the  broken  lava  and 
watched  the  little  captain  come  back  to 
the  boat  and  bid  us  farewell.  Then 
when  night  came  she  had  crept  out  and 
gone  far  over  to  the  great  papaku,  and 
lay  down  to  hide  again,  for  she  feared 


184 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

the  fighting  ship  might  return  to  seek 
her.  And  all  that  day  she  lay  hidden 
in  the  lava  till  night  fell  upon  her 
again,  and  hunger  drove  her  to  seek 
the  faces  of  men.  In  the  rain  she  all 
but  perished,  till  God  brought  her 
feet  to  this  my  house. 

"  Then  said  Taku  the  Sailor,  *  Why 
didst  thou  flee  from  the  ship  ?•' 

"The  white  girl  put  her  hands  to 
her  face  and  wept,  and  said,  'Bring 
me  my  jacket.* 

"  I  gave  to  her  the  blue  sailor's 
jacket,  and  from  inside  of  it  she  took 
a  little  flat  thing  and  placed  it  in  her 
bosom. 

•  •  •  • 

"Again  said  old  Poh^re  to  Taku,  *0 
man  of  slow  tongue,  ask  her  of  Farani,* 
So  he  asked  in  this  wise  : 

•*'See,  O  White  Girl,  that  is  Poh^re, 
the  mother  of  Temeteri,  who  bore  a 
son  to  the  white  man  that  came  here 
to  look  upon  the  Silent  Faces ;  and 
because  he  came  from  thy  land,  and 
because  of  the  heart  of  Temeteri  which 
is  dried  up  for  love  of  him  does  this 
foolish  old  woman  ask  thee  if  thou 
hast  seen  him  ;  for  long  months  ago 
he  left  Rapa-nui.  In  our  tongue  we 
call  him  Farani.* 


i8s 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"The  girl  looked  at  Taku  the  Sailor, 
and  her  lips  moved,  but  no  words  came. 
Then  from  her  bosom  she  took  the 
little  flat  thing  and  held  it  to  him, 
but  sickness  was  in  her  hand  so  that 
h  trembled,  and  that  which  she  held 
fell  to  the  ground.  So  Taku  stooped 
and  picked  it  up  from  where  it  lay- 
on  the  mat  and  looked,  and  his  eyes 
blazed,  and  he  shouted  out  '  Jue  /  *  for 
it  was  the  face  of  Farani  that  looked 
into  his  !  And  as  he  held  it  up  in 
his  hand  to  the  people  they,  too, 
shouted  in  wonder ;  and  then  the  girl 
Temeteri  cast  aside  those  that  stood 
about  her  and  tore  it  from  his  hand 
and  fled. 

"  *  Who  is  she  ?  *  said  the  white  girl, 
in  a  weak  voice  to  Taku,  '  and  why 
hath  she  robbed  me  of  that  which  is 
dear  to  me  ?  *  and  Taku  was  ashamed 
and  turned  his  face  away  from  her 
because  of  two  things — his  heart  was 
sore  for  Temeteri,  who  is  a  blood 
relation,  and  was  shamed  because  her 
white  lover  had  deserted  her  ;  and  he 
was  full  of  pity  for  the  white  girl's 
tears.     So  he  said  nought. 

"  The  girl  raised  herself  and  her 
hand  caught  Taku  by  the  arm,  and 
these  were  her  words  :  '  O  man,  for 


i86 


So  Taku  stooped  and  picked  it  up  from  where 
it  lay  on  the  mat. 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

the  love  of  Jesu  Christ,  tell  me  what 
was  this  woman  Temeteri  to  my 
husband  ?  * 

"Now  Taku  the  Sailor  was  sore 
troubled,  and  felt  it  hard  to  hurt  her 
heart,  yet  he  said,  '  Was  Farani,  the 
Englishman,  thy  husband  ?* 

"  She  wept  again,  '  He  was  my 
husband.* 

"  '  Why  left  he  one  as  fair  as  thee  ?  * 
said  Taku,  in  wonder. 

"  She  shook  her  head.  *  I  know  not, 
except  he  loved  to  look  upon  strange 
lands  ;  yet  he  loved  me.' 

"  *  He  is  a  bad  man,*  said  Taku. 
*  He  loved  others  as  well  as  thee. 
The  girl  that  fled  but  now  with  his 
picture  was  wife  to  him  here.  He 
loved  her  and  she  bore  him  a  son.* 

"  The  girFs  head  fell  on  my  shoulder 
and  her  eyes  closed,  and  she  became 
as  dead,  and  lo  !  in  a  little  while  as 
she  strove  to  speak  blood  poured  from 
her  mouth  and  ran  down  over  her 
bosom. 

"'It  is  the  hand  of  Death,*  said 
Taku  the  Sailor. 

"Where  she  now  lies,  there  died 
she,  at  about  the  hour  when  the  people 
of  Vaihou  saw  the  sails  of  thy  ship. 


187 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

"We  have  no  priest  here,  for  the 
good  father  that  was  here  three  years 
ago  is  now  silent ;  yet  did  Taku  and 
I  pray  with  her.  And  ere  she  was 
silent  she  said  she  would  set  down 
some  words  on  paper  ;  so  Alrema,  my 
little  daughter,  hastened  to  Mataveri, 
and  the  chief  sent  back  some  paper 
and  vai  tuhi  (ink)  that  had  belonged 
to  the  good  priest.  So  with  weak 
hand  she  set  down  some  words,  but 
even  as  she  wrote  she  rose  up  and 
threw  out  her  hands,  and  called  out, 
•Francisco,  Francisco  !  *  and  fell  back, 
and  was  silent  for  ever." 


IV. 

The  captain  of  the  Pocahontas 
dashed  the  now  fast-falling  tears  from 
his  eyes,  and  with  his  rough  old  heart 
swelling  with  pity  for  the  poor 
wanderer,  took  from  Taku  the  sheet 
of  paper  on  which  the  heart-broken 
girl's  last  words  were  traced. 

Ere  he  could  read  it  a  low  murmur 
of  voices  outside  told  him  his  crew 
had  returned.  They  carried  a  rude 
wooden  shell ;  and  then   with   bared 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

heads    the    captain    and    boatsteerer 
entered  the  house  where  she  lay. 

Again  the  old  man  raised  the  piece 
of  navy  blue  cloth  from  off  the  sweet, 
sad  face,  and  a  heavy  tear  dropped 
down  upon  her  forehead.  Then, 
aided  by  the  gentle,  sympathetic 
women,  his  task  was  soon  finished,  and 
two  of  his  crew  entered  and  carried 
their  burden  to  its  grave.  Service 
there  was  none  ;  only  the  prayers  and 
tears  of  the  brown  women  of  Rapa- 
nui. 


Ere  he  said  farewell  the  captain  of 
the  whaleship  placed  money  in  the 
hands  of  Varua  and  Taku.  They 
drew  back,  hurt  and  mortified.  See- 
ing his  mistake,  the  seaman  desired 
Varua  to  give  the  money  to  the  girl 
Temeteri. 

"  Nay,  sir,"  said  Varua,  "  she  would 
but  give  me  bitter  words.  Even  when 
she  who  is  now  silent  was  not  yet  cold 
Temeteri  came  to  the  door  of  the 
house  where  she  lay  and  spat  twice  on 
the  ground,  and  taking  up  gravel  in 
her  hand  cast  it  at  her  and  cursed  her 
in  the  name  of  our  old  heathen  gods. 
And  as  for  money,  we  here  in  Rapa- 


i8q 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

nui  need  it  not.     May  Christ  protect 

thee  on  the  sea.     Farewell !  *' 
•  ■  •  • 

The  captain  of  the  Pocahontas  rose 
and  came  to  the  cabin  table,  and 
motioning  to  his  guests  to  fill  their 
glasses,  said — 

'*  *Tis  a  real  sad  story,  gentlemen, 
and  if  I  should  ever  run  across  Doctor 
Francis — I  should  talk  some  to  him. 
But  see  here.  Here  is  my  log  ;  my 
mate,  who  is  a  fancy  writist,  wrote  it 
at  my  dictation.  I  can't  show  you  the 
letter  that  the  pore  creature  herself 
wrote  ;  that  I  ain*t  going  to  show  to 
any  one." 

The  two  captains  rose  and  stood 
beside  him  and  read  the  entry  in  the 
log  of  the  Pocahontas, 

^"^  November  28,  187-. 
"  This  day  I  landed  at  Easter  Island, 
to  try  and  obtain  as  a  *  green  *  hand  a 
young  Chilian  seaman  who,  the  captain 
of  the  Chilian  corvette  O'Higgins  in- 
formed me,  had  run  away  there.  On 
landing  I  was  shown  the  body  of  a 
young  girl,  whom  the  natives  stated 
to  be  the  deserter.  She  had  died  that 
morning.  Buried  her  as  decentlv  as 
circumstances  would   permit.     From 


190 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

a  letter  she  wrote  on  the  morning  of 
her  death  I  learned  her  name  to  be 

Seiiora  Teresa  T .     Her  husband, 

Dr.  Francis  T ,  was  an  Englishman 

in  the  service  of  the  Chilian  Republic. 
He  was  sent  out  on  a  scientific  mission 
to  the  island,  and  his  wife  followed  him 
in  the  O'Higgins  disguised  as  a  blue- 
jacket. I  should  take  her  to  have 
been  about  nineteen  years  of  age. 

"  Spence  Eldridge,  Master. 

**  Manual  Legaspe,  2nd  officer. 
"  Brig  Pocahontas  of  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, U.S.A.'* 

"  Well,  that's  curious  now,"  said  the 
skipper  of  the  Nassau^  "  why,  I  knew 
that  man.  He  left  the  island  in  the 
King  Darius^  of  New  Bedford,  and 
landed  at  Ponape  in  the  Caroline 
Group,  whar  those  underground  ruins 
are  at  Metalanien  Harbour.  Guess 
he  wanted  to  potter  around  there  a  bit. 
But  he  got  inter  some  sorter  trouble 
among  the  natives  there  an'  he  got 
shot." 

"  Aye,"  said  the  captain  of  the 
Dagget,  "I  remember  the  affair.  I 
was  mate  of  the  Jouphine^  and  we 
were  lying  at  Jakoits  Harbour  when 
he  was  killed,  and  now  I  remember  / 


101 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

the  name  too.     Waal,  he  wasn't  much 
account  anyhow." 

Ten  years  ago  a  wandering  white 
man  stood,  with  Taku  the  Sailor,  at 
the  base  of  the  wall  of  the  great 
papaku,  and  the  native  pointed  out 
the  last  resting-place  of  the  wanderer. 
There,  under  the  shadow  of  the  Silent 
Faces  of  Stone  the  brave  and  loving 
heart  that  dared  so  much  is  at  peace 
for  ever. 


1^1 


Brantley  of  Vahitahi. 


NE  day  a  trading  vessel 
lay  becalmed  ofF  Tata- 
koto,  in  the  Paumotu 
Archipelago,  and  the 
captain  and  supercargo, 
taking  a  couple  of  na- 
tive sailors  with  them, 
went  ashore  at  dawn  to 
catch  some  turtle.  The 
turtle  were  plentiful  and 
easily  caught,  and  after 
half  a  dozen  had  been 
put  in  the  boat,  the  two 
white  men  strolled  along 
the  white  hard  beach. 
The  captain,  old,  griz- 
zled, and  grim,  seemed  to  know  the 
place  well,  and  led  the  way. 

The  island  is  very  narrow,  and  as 


193 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

they  left  the  beach  and  gained  the 
shade  of  the  forest  of  cocoanuts  that 
grew  to  the  margin  of  high-water  mark 
they  could  see,  between  the  tall,  stately 
palms,  the  placid  waters  of  the  lagoon, 
and  a  mile  or  so  across,  the  inner  beach 
of  the  weather  side  of  the  island. 

For  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  so  the 
two  men  walked  on  till  the  widest 
part  of  the  island  was  reached.  Here, 
under  the  shadow  of  some  giant  puka 
trees,  the  old  skipper  stopped  and  sat 
down  on  a  roughly  hewn  slab  of 
coral,  the  remains  of  one  of  those 
marae  or  heathen  temples  that  are  to 
be  found  anywhere  in  the  islands  of 
Eastern  Polynesia. 

*'  I  knew  this  place  well  once,"  he 
said,  as  he  pulled  out  his  pipe.  "I 
used  to  come  here  when  I  was  sailing 
one  of  Brander*s  vessels  out  of  Tahiti. 
As  we  have  done  now  we  did  then — 
came  here  for  turtle.  No  natives 
have  lived  here  for  the  past  forty 
years.  Did  you  ever  hear  of 
Brantley  ?  ** 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  supercargo, 
"  but  he  died  long  ago,  did  he  not  ? " 

"Aye,  he  died  here,  and  his  wife 
and  sister  too.  They  all  lie  here  in 
this  old  marae  J* 


194 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 


And    then    he    told    the    story   of 
Brantley. 


I* 

It  was  six  years  since  Brantley,  with 
his  companions  in  misery,  had  drifted 
ashore  at  lonely  Vahitahi  in  the  Pau- 
motu  Group,  and  the  kindly-hearted 
people  had  gazed  with  pitying  horror 
upon  the  dreadful  beings  that,  mut- 
tering and  gibbering  to  each  other, 
lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and 
pointed  with  long  talon-like  fingers 
to  their  burnt  and  bloody  thirst- 
tortured  lips. 

•  •  •  • 
And  now  as  he  sits  in  the  doorway 

of  his  thatched  house  and  gazes 
dreamily  out  upon  the  long  curve  of 
creamy  beach  and  wind-swayed  line 
of  palms  that  fringe  the  leeward  side 
of  his  island  home,  Brantley  passes 
a  brown  hand  slowly  up  and  down 
his  sun-bronzed  cheek  and  thinks  of 
the  past. 

•  •  •  • 

He  was  so  full  of  life — of  the  very 
joy  of  living — that  time  six  years  ago 
when  he  sailed  from  Auckland  on  that 


iq? 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

fateful  voyage  in  the  Doris.  It  was 
his  first  voyage  as  captain,  and  the 
ship  was  his  own,  and  even  now  he 
remembers  with  a  curious  time-dulled 
pang  the  last  words  of  his  only  sister 
— the  Doris  after  whom  he  had  called 
his  new  ship — as  she  had  kissed  him 
farewell — "  I  am  so  glad,  Fred,  to 
hear  them  call  you  '  Captain  Brant- 
ley/" 

•  •  •  • 

And  the  voyage,  the  wild  feverish 
desire  to  make  a  record  passage  to 
'Frisco  and  back  ;  the  earnest  words 
of  poor  old  white-headed  Lutton,  the 
mate,  **  not  to  carry  on  so  at  night 
going  through  the  Paumotu  Group  ;" 
that  awful  midnight  crash  when  the 
Doris  ran  hopelessly  into  the  wild  boil 
of  roaring  surf  on  Tuanake  Reef;  the 
white,  despairing  faces  of  fivt  of  his 
men,  who,  with  curses  in  their  eyes 
upon  his  folly,  were  swept  out  of  sight 
into  the  awful  blackness  of  the  night. 
And  then  the  days  in  the  boat  with 
the  six  survivors  !  Ah,  the  memory 
of  that  will  chill  his  blood  to  his  dying 
day.  Men  have  had  to  do  that  which 
he  and  the  two  who  came  through 
alive  with  him  had  done. 

How  long  they  endured  that  black 


196 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

agony  of  suffering  he  knew  not.  By 
common  consent  none  of  them  ever 
spoke  of  it  again. 

Three  months  after  they  had  drifted 
ashore,  a  passing  sperm  whaler,  crui  sing 
through  the  group,  took  away  the  two 
seamen,  and  then  Brantley,  after  bid- 
ding them  a  silent  farewell,  had,  with 
bitter  despair  gnawing  at  his  heart, 
turned  his  face  away  from  the  ship 
and  walked  back  into  the  palm-shaded 
village. 

"I  will  never  go  back  again,*'  he 
had  said  to  himself.  And  perhaps  he 
was  right ;  for  when  the  Doris  went 
to  pieces  on  Tuanake  his  hope  and 
fortunes  went  with  her,  and  save  for 
that  other  Doris  there  was  no  one  in 
the  wofld  who  cared  for  him.  He  was 
not  the  man  to  face  the  world  again 
with  **  Why,  he  lost  his  first  ship," 
whispered  among  his  acquaintances. 

And  this  is  how  Brantley,  young, 
handsome,  and  as  smart  a  seaman 
(save  for  that  one  fatal  mistake)  as 
ever  trod  a  deck,  became  Paranili  the 
Papalagiy  and  was  living  out  his  life 
among  the  people  of  solitary  Vahitahi. 

Ere   a  year   had   passed   a  trading 


IQ7 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

captain  bound  to  the  Gambler  Islands 
had  given  him  a  small  stock  of  trade 
goods,  and  the  thought  of  Doris  had 
been  his  salvation.  Only  for  her  he 
would  have  sunk  to  the  life  of  a  mere 
idle,  gin-drinking,  and  dissolute  beach- 
comber. As  it  was  his  steady,  straight- 
forward life  among  the  people  of  the 
island  was  a  big  factor  to  his  business 
success.  And  so  every  year  he  sent 
money  to  Doris  by  some  passing  whaler 
or  Tahitan  trading  schooner,  but  twice 
only  had  he  got  letters  from  her ;  and 
each  time  she  had  said,  "Let  me 
come  to  you,  Fred.  We  are  alone  in 
the  world,  and  may  never  meet  again 
else.  Sometimes  I  awake  in  the  night 
with  a  sudden  fear.  Let  me  come  ; 
my  heart  is  breaking  with  the  loneli- 
ness of  my  life  here,  so  far  away  from 
you.'* 

But  two  years  ago  he  had  done  that 
which  would  keep  Doris  from  ever 
coming  to  him,  he  thought.  He  had 
married  a  young  native  girl — that  is, 
taken  her  to  wife  in  the  Paumotuan 
fashion — and  surely  Doris,  with  her 
old-fashioned  notions  of  right  and 
wrong,  would  grieve  bitterly  if  she 
knew  it. 


198 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

Presently  he  rose,  talking  to  himself 
as  is  the  wont  of  those  who  have  lived 
long  apart  from  all  white  associations, 
and  sauntered  up  and  down  the  shady 
path  at  the  side  of  his  dwelling, 
thinking  of  Doris  and  if  he  would 
ever  see  her  again.  Then  he  entered 
the  house. 

Seated  on  the  matted  floor  with  her 
face  turned  from  him  was  a  young 
native  girl — Luita,  his  wife.  She 
was  making  a  hat  from  the  bleached 
strands  of  the  pandanus  leaf,  and  as  she 
worked  she  sang  softly  to  herself  in  the 
semi-Tahitan  tongue  of  her  people. 

Brantley,  lazily  stretching  himself 
out  on  a  rough  mat-covered  couch, 
turned  towards  her  and  watched  the 
slender,  supple  fingers — covered,  in 
Polynesian  fashion,  with  heavy  gold 
rings — as  they  deftly  drew  out  the 
snow-white  strands  of  the  pandanus. 
The  long,  glossy,  black  waves  of  hair 
that  fell  over  her  bare  back  and  bosom 
like  a  mantle  of  night  hid  her  face 
from  his  view,  and  the  man  let  his 
glance  rest  in  contented  admiration 
upon  the  graceful  curves  of  the  youth- 
ful figure  ;  then  he  sighed  softly,  and 
again  his  eyes  turned  to  the  wide,  sail- 
less  expanse  of  the   Pacific,  that  lay 

199 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

ihimmering  and  sparkling  before  him 
under  a  cloudless  sky  of  blue,  and  he 
thought  again  of  Doris. 

Steadily  the  little  hands  worked  in 
and  out  among  the  snowy  strands,  and 
now  and  then,  as  she  came  to  the  tariy 
or  refrain,  of  the  old  Paumotuan  love- 
song,  her  soft  liquid  tones  would  blend 
with  the  quavering  treble  of  children 
that  played  outside. 

"  Teriinavahori,  teeth  of  pearl. 

Knit  the  sandals  for  Talaloo*8  feet. 
Sandals  of  afa  thick  and  strong, 
Bind  them  well  with  thy  long  black  hair.'* 

Suddenly  the  song  ceased,  and  with 
a  quick  movement  of  her  shoulders 
she  threw  back  the  cloud  of  hair 
that  fell  around  her  arms  and  bosom, 
looked  up  at  Brantley  and  laughed, 
and,  striking  the  mat  on  which  she 
sat  with  her  open  palm,  said — 

*'  Art  maiy  Paranili** 

He  rose  from  the  couch  and  stooped 
beside  her,  with  his  hands  resting  on 
his  knees,  and  bending  his  brow  in 
mock  criticism,  regarded  her  handi- 
work intently. 

Springing  to  her  feet,  hat  in  hand, 
and  placing  her  two  hands  on  his  now 


200 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

erect  shoulders,  she  looked  into  his 
face — darker  far  than  her  own — and 
said  with  a  smile — 

"  Behold,  Paranili,  thy  pulou  is 
finished,  save  for  a  band  of  black 
piiava  which  thou  shalt  give  me  from 
the  store.'* 

"Mine?"  said  Brantley,  in  pre- 
tended ignorance.  "Why  labour  so 
for  me  ?  Are  there  not  hats  in  plenty 
on  Vahitahi  ? " 

"  True,  O  thankless  one  !  but  the 
women  of  the  village  say  that  thou 
lookest  upon  me  as  a  fool  because  I 
can  neither  make  mats  nor  do  many 
other  things  such  as  becometh  a  wife. 
And  for  this  did  Merani,  my  cousin, 
teach  me  how  to  make  a  wide  hat  of 
^ala  to  shield  thy  face  from  the  sun 
when  thou  art  out  upon  the  pearling 
grounds.  Ai-e-eh!  my  husband,  but  thy 
face  and  neck  and  hands  are  as  dark  as 
those  of  the  people  of  Makatea — they 
who  are  for  ever  in  their  canoes.  ,  .  . 
See,  Paranili,  bend  thy  head.  Ai-e-eh! 
thou  art  a  tall  man,  my  husband,"  and 
she  trilled  a  happy,  rippling  laugh  as 
she  placed  the  hat  on  his  head. 

He  placed  one  hand  around  the 
pliant  waist  and  under  the  mantle  of 
hair  and  drew  her  towards  him,  and 


20I 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

then,    moved    by  a  sudden    emotion, 
kissed  her  soft,  red  lips. 

"  Luita,'*  he  asked,  "  would  it  hurt 
thee  if  I  were  to  go  away  ? " 

The  girl  drew  away  from  him,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  two  years  Brant- 
ley saw  an  angry  flush  tinge  her  cheek 
a  dusky  red. 

•  •  •  • 

"  Ah !  " — the  contemptuous  ring  in 
her  voice  made  the  man's  eyes  drop  — 
"  thou  art  like  all  White  Men — was 
there  ever  one  who  was  faithful  ? 
What  other  woman  is  it  that  thou 
desirest  ?  Is  it  Nia  of  Ahunui — she 
who,  when  thy  boat  lay  anchored  in 
the  lagoon,  swam  off  at  night  and 
asked  thee  for  thy  love — the  shame- 
less Nia  ! »' 

The  angry  light  in  the  black  eyes 
glared  fiercely,  and  the  dull  red  on 
her  cheeks  had  changed  to  the  livid 
paleness  of  passion. 

Brantley,  holding  the  rim  of  the 
hat  over  his  mouth,  laughed  secretly, 
pleased  at  her  first  outburst  of  jealousy. 
Then  his  natural  manliness  asserted 
itself. 

"  Come  here,"  he  said. 

Somewhat  sullenly  the  girl  obeyed 


202 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

and  edged  up  beside  him  with  face 
bent  down.  He  put  his  hand  upon 
hers,  and  for  a  few  seconds  looked  at 
the  delicate  tracery  of  tatooing  that, 
on  the  back,  ran  in  thin  blue  lines 
from  the  finger  tips  to  the  wrists. 

"  What  a  d d  pity,"  he  mut- 
tered to  himself ;  "  this  infernal 
tatooing  would  give  the  poor  devil 
away  anywhere  in  civilization.  Her 
skin  is  not  as  dark  as  that  pretty 
Creole  I  was  so  sweet  on  in  Galveston 
ten  years  ago  .  .  .  well,  she's  good 
enough  for  a  broken  man  like  me ; 
but  I  can't  take  her  away — that's 
certain." 

A  heavy  tear  splashed  on  his  hand, 
and  then  he  pulled  her  to  him,  almost 
savagely. 

"  See,  Luita.  I  did  but  ask  to  try 
thee.  Have  no  fear.  Thy  land  is 
mine  for  ever." 

The  girl  looked  up,  and  in  an 
instant  her  face,  wet  with  tears,  was 
laid  against  his  breast. 

Still  caressing  the  dark  head  that 
lay  upon  his  chest,  Brantley  stooped 
and  whispered  something.  The  little 
tatooed  hand  released  its  clasp  of  his 
arm  and  struck  him  a  playful  blow. 

"And  would  that  bind  thee  more 


203 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

to  me,  and  to  the  ways  of  these  our 
people  of  Vahitahi/*  she  asked,  with 
still  buried  face. 

"Aye,"  answered  the  ex-captain, 
slowly,  *'  for  I  have  none  but  thee  in 
the  world  to  care  for." 

She  turned  her  face  up.  "  Is  there 
none — not  even  one  woman  in  far-off 
Beretania,  whose  face  comes  to  thee 
in  the  darkness." 

Brantley  shook  his  head  sadly.  Of 
course,  there  was  Doris,  he  thought, 
but  he  had  never  spoken  of  her. 
Sometimes  when  the  longing  to  see 
her  again  would  come  upon  him  he 
would  have  talked  of  her  to  his  native 
wife,  but  he  was  by  nature  an  un- 
communicative man,  and  the  thought 
of  how  Doris  must  feel  her  loneliness 
touched  him  with  remorse  and  made 
him  silent. 

Another  year  passed,  and  matters 
had  gone  well  with  Brantley.  Ten 
months  before  he  had  dropped  on  one 
of  the  best  patches  of  shell  in  the 
Paumotus,  and  to-day,  as  he  sits  writ- 
ing and  smoking  in  the  big  room  of 
his  house,  he  looks  contentedly  out 
through  the  open  door  to  a  little 
white-painted    schooner    that    lay    at 


204 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

anchor  on  the  calm  waters  of  the 
lagoon.  He  had  just  come  back  from 
Tahiti  with  her,  and  the  two  thousand 
dollars  he  had  paid  for  her  was  an 
easy  matter  for  a  man  who  was  now 
making  a  thousand  a  month. 

"What  a  stroke  of  luck,"  he  writes 
to  Doris.  '*  Had  I  gone  back  to 
Sydney,  where  would  I  be  now  ? — a 
mate,  I  suppose,  on  some  deep-sea 
ship,  earning  ^^12  or  ;^I4  a  month. 
Another  year  or  two  like  this,  and  I 
could  go  back  a  made  man.  Some 
day,  my  dear,  I  may ;  but  I  will 
come  back  here  again.  The  ways 
of  the  people  have  become  my  ways." 

He  laid  down  his  pen  and  came 
to  the  door  and  stood  thinking  awhile 
and  listening  to  the  gentle  rustle  of 
the  palms  as  they  swayed  their  lofty 
plumes  to  the  breezy  trade  wind. 

"Yes,"  he  thought,  "I  would  like 
to  go  and  see  Doris,  but  I  can't  take 
Luita,  and  so  it  cannot  be.  How 
that  girl  suspects  me  even  now. 
When  I  went  to  Tahiti  to  buy  the 
schooner  I  believe  she  thought  she 
would  never  see  me  again.  .  .  .  What 
a  fool  I  am  !  Doris  is  all  right,  I  sup- 
pose, although  it  is  a  year  since  I  had 


20S 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

a  letter  .  .  .  and  I — could  any  man 
want  more.  T  don't  believe  there's  a 
soul  on  the  island  but  thinks  as  much 
of  me  as  Luita  herself  does  ;  and  by 
G — d  she's  a  pearl — even  though  she 
is  only  a  native  girl.  No,  I'll  stay 
here:  'Kapeni  Paranili '  will  always 
be  a  big  man  in  the  Paumotus,  but 
Fred  Brantley  would  be  nobody  in 
Sydney — only  a  common  merchant 
skipper  who  had  made  money  in  the 
islands;  .  .  .  and  perhaps  Doris  is 
married." 

So  he  thought  and  talked  to  him- 
self, listening  the  while  to  the  soft 
symphony  of  the  swaying  palm-tops 
and  the  subdued  murmur  of  the  surf 
as  the  rollers  crashed  on  the  distant 
line  of  reef  away  to  leeward.  Of  late 
these  fleeting  visions  of  the  outside 
world — that  quick,  busy  world,  whose 
memories,  save  for  those  of  Doris,  were 
all  but  dead  to  him — had  become  more 
frequent ;  but  the  calm,  placid  happi- 
ness of  his  existence,  and  that  strange, 
fatal  glamour  that  for  ever  enwraps 
the  minds  of  those  who  wander  in 
the  islands  of  the  sunlit  sea — as  the 
old  Spanish  navigators  called  Poly- 
nesia— had  woven  its  spell  too  strongly 


206 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

over  his  nature  to  be  broken.  And 
now,  as  the  murmur  of  women's  voices 
caused  him  to  turn  his  head  to  the 
shady  end  of  the  verandah,  the  dark, 
dreamy  eyes  of  Luita,  v^rho  with  her 
women  attendants  sat  there  playing 
with  her  child,  looked  out  at  him 
from  beneath  their  long  lashes,  and 
told  him  his  captivity  was  complete. 
•  •  •  • 

A  week  afterwards  the  people  of 
Vahitahi  were  clustered  on  the  beach 
putting  supplies  of  native  food  in  the 
schooner's  boat.  That  night  he  was 
to  sail  again  for  the  pearling  grounds 
at  Matahiva  lagoon  and  would  be 
away  three  months. 

One  by  one  the  people  bade  him 
adieu,  and  then  stood  apart  while  he 
said  farewell  to  Luita. 

"  E  mahina  tolu^  little  one,*'  he  was 
saying,  "  why  such  a  gloomy  face." 

The  girl  shook  her  head,  and  her 
mouth  twitched.  "  But  the  mitiy 
Paranili — the  miti  of  my  mother.  She 
is  wise  in  the  things  that  are  hidden ; 
for  she  is  one  of  those  who  believe  in 
the  old  gods  of  Vahitahi.  ,  .  ,  And 
there  are  many  here  of  the  new  lotu 
who  yet  believe  in  the  old  gods.  And, 
lee,  she  has  dreamed  of  this  unknown 


207 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

evil  to  thee  twice  ;  and  twice  have 
the  voices  of  those  who  are  silent  in 
the  marae  called  to  me  in  the  night 
and  said,  *  He  must  not  go  ;  he  must 
not  go.' " 

Knowing  well  how  the  old  super- 
stitious taint  ran  riot  in  the  imagina- 
tive native  mind,  Brantley  did  not 
attempt  to  reason,  but  sought  to  gently 
disengage  her  hands  from  his  arm. 

She  dropped  on  the  sand  at  his 
feet  and  clasped  his  knees,  and  a  long, 
wailing  note  of  grief  rang  out. 

'*  Aue !  aue  !  my  husband  ;  if  it  so 
be  that  thou  dost  not  heed  the  voices 
that  call  in  the  night,  then,  out  of 
thy  love  for  me  and  our  child,  let  me 
come  also.  Then,  if  evil  befall  thee, 
let  us  perish  together." 

Brantley  raised  his  hand  and  pointed 
to  the  bowed  and  weeping  figure. 
Some  women  came  and  lifted  her  up. 
Then  taking  the  tender  face  between 
his  rough  hands  he  bent  his  head  to 
hers,  sprang  into  the  boat  and  was  gone. 
•  .  •  • 

II. 

With  ten  tons  of  shell  snugly 
stowed  in  her  hold,  the  little  7amariki 
was  heading  back  for  Vahitahi  after 


208 


BY    REEF   AND    PALM. 

barely  two  months'  absence.  Brantley, 
as  he  leant  over  the  rail  and  watched 
the  swirl  and  eddy  of  the  creamy 
phosphorescence  that  hissed  and 
bubbled  under  the  vessel's  stern,  felt 
well  satisfied. 

It  was  the  hour  of  dawn  ;  and  the 
native  at  the  tiller  sang,  as  the  stars 
began  to  pale  before  the  red  flush 
that  tinged  the  sky  to  windward,  a 
low  chant  of  farewell  to  Fetuaho,  the 
star  of  the  morning,  and  then  he  called 
to  Brantley,  who  to  all  his  crew  was 
always  "  Paranili "  and  never  "  Kapeni," 
and  pointed  with  his  naked  tatooed 
arm  away  to  leeward,  where  the  low 
outlines  of  an  island  began  to  show. 

"Look,  Paranili;  that  is  Tatakoto 
— the  place  I  have  told  thee  of,  where 
the  turtle  make  the  white  beach  to 
look  black.  Would  it  not  be  well  for 
us  to  take  home  some  to  Vahitahi  ? " 

"  Thou  glutton,"  said  Brantley, 
good-humouredly,  "dost  thou  think 
I  am  like  to  lose  a  day  so  that  thou 
and  thy  friends  may  fill  thy  stomachf 
with  turtle  meat  ? " 

Rue  Manu  laughed  and  showed  hi& 
white,  even  teeth.  "  Nay,  Paranili, 
not  for  that  alone  ;  but  it  is  a  great 
place,  that  Tatakoto  ;  and   thou  hast 


209 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM 

never  landed  there  to  look,  and  Luita 
hath  said  that  some  day  she  would 
ask  thee  to  take  her  there ;  for  though 
she  was  born  at  Vahitahi  her  blood  is 
that  of  the  people  of  Tatakoto,  who 
have  long  since  lain  silent  in  the 
maraesr 

Brantley  had  often  heard  her  speak 
of  it,  this  solitary  spot  in  the  wide 
Pacific,  and  now,  as  he  looked  at  the 
pretty  verdure-clad  island  against  the 
weather  shore  of  which  the  thunder- 
ing rollers  burst  with  a  muffled  roar, 
he  was  surprised  at  its  length  and 
extent,  and  decided  to  pay  it  a  visit 
some  day, 

"Not  now,  Rua,"  he  said  to  the 
steersman,  *'  but  it  shall  be  soon.  Arc 
there  many  cocoanuts  there.** 

**  Many  ?  May  I  perish  but  the 
trees  are  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and 
the  nuts  lay  thick  upon  the  ground. 
Ai-e-eh  !  and  the  robber  crabs  are  in 
thousands,  and  fat ;  and  the  sea-birds 
eggs." 

"Glutton  again  !  Be  content.  In 
a  little  while  we  and  as  many  of  the 
people  of  Vahitahi  as  the  schooner 
will  carry  will  go  there  and  stay  for 
the  turtle  season." 


2IO 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

Three  days  afterwards  the  schooner 
was  within  fifty  miles  of  his  island 
home,  when  Brantley  was  aroused  at 
daylight  from  his  watch  below  by  the 
cry  of  "7"^  pathi!^*  (a  ship  !)  and 
hastening  on  deck  he  saw  a  large 
vessel  bearing  down  upon  them.  In 
half  an  hour  she  was  close  to,  and 
Brantley  recognised  her  as  a  brig 
from  Tahiti,  that  occasionally  made  a 
trading  voyage  to  the  Paumotus,  and 
whose  skipper  was  a  personal  friend. 
Suddenly  she  hove-to  and  lowered  a 
boat,  which  came  alongside  the 
schooner,  and  the  white  man  that 
steered  jumped  on  deck  and  held  out 
his  hand. 

"  How  are  you,  Brantley  ?  **  and 
then  his  eye  went  quickly  over  the 
crew  of  the  schooner,  then  glanced 
through  the  open  skylight  into  the 
little  cabin,  and  a  hopeful,  expectant 
look  in  his  face  died  away. 

"  Very  well,  thank  you,  Latham. 
But  what  is  wrong  ? — you  look 
worried." 

"  Come  on  board,"  said  the  captain 
of  the  brig,  quietly,  "  and  I'll  tell  you." 

As  Brantley  took  his  seat  beside 
him  Latham  said,  "  I  have  bad  news 
for  you,  Brantley.     Your  sister  is  on 


211 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM, 

board  the  brig,  and  I  fear  she  will 
not  live  long.  She  came  down  to 
Tahiti  in  the  Marama  from  Auckland, 
and  offered  me  a  good  round  sum  to 
bring  her  to  you." 

**  Has  she  been  ill  long,  Latham  ?  " 

Latham  looked  at  him  curiously. 
"  Didn't  you  know,  Brantley.  She*s 
in  a  rapid  consumption." 

For  a  moment  neither  men  spoke  ; 
then  Latham  gave  a  short  cough. 

"  I  feel  it  almost  as  badly  as  you, 
Brantley, — but  Tve  got  a  bit  more 
bad  news ^*' 

"  Go  on,  Latham — it  can't  matter 
much ;  my  poor  sister  is  everything  to 
me." 

"Just  so.  That's  what  I  told  Miss 
Brantley.     Well,  it's  this — your  wife 

and  child  are  missing ^"     Latham 

glanced  at  him  and  saw  that  his  hand 
trembled  and  then  clutched  the  gun- 
wale of  the  boat. 

"We  got  into  Vahitahi  lagoon 
about  ten  days  ago,  and  I  took  Miss 
Brantley  ashore.  What  happened  I 
don't  exactly  know,  but  the  next 
night  one  of  your  whaleboats  was 
gone,  and  Luita  and  the  child  were 
missing.    Your  sister  was  in  a  terrible 


212 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

State  of  mind,  and  ofFered  mc  a  thou- 
sand dollars  to  put  to  sea.  Brantley, 
old  man,  I  wouldn't  take  a  dollar  from 
her — God  bless  her — but  I  did  put  to 
sea,  and  IVe  searched  nigh  on  twenty- 
islands  and  scores  of  reefs  and  sand- 
banks  ** 

**  Thank  you,  Latham,"  said  Brant- 
ley, quietly  ;  "  when  we  get  on  board 
you  can  give  me  further  particulars 
of  the  islands  you've  searched." 

"  You  can  have  my  marked  chart ; 
IVe  got  a  spare  one.  Brace  up,  old 
man  ;  youUl  see  your  sister  in  a 
minute.  She  is  terribly  cut  up  over 
poor  Lutia — more  so  than  I  knew  you 
would.  But  she  was  a  grand  little 
woman,  Brantley,  although  she  was 
only  a  native." 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  in  the  same 
slow,  dazed  manner,  "  she  was  a  good 

little   girl   to  me,  although  she " 

The  words  stuck  in  his  throat. 

Latham  showed  him  into  the  brig's 
cabin,  and  then  a  door  opened,  and 
Doris  threw  herself  weeping  into  his 
arms. 

"  Oh,  Doris,"  he  whispered,  "  why 
did  you  not  tell  me  you  were  ill  .  .  . 
I  would  have  come  to  you  long  ago. 
I  feel  a  brute " 


213 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

She  placed  her  hands  on  his  lips. 
'*  Never  mind  about  me,  Fred.  Has 
Captain  Latham  told  you  about " 

"  Yes,"  he  replied  ;  and  then  sud- 
denly, "  Doris,  I  am  going  to  look  for 
her ;  I  think  I  know  where  she  tried 
to  reach.  It  is  not  far  from  here. 
Doris,  will  you  go  on  back  to  Vahitahi 
with  Latham  and  wait  for  me  ?  ** 

"  Fred,"  she  whispered,  "  let  me 
come  with  you.  It  will  not  be  long, 
dear,  before  I  am  gone,  and  it  was  hard 
to  die  away  from  you  .  .  .  that  is  why 
I  came ;  and  perhaps  we  may  find  her." 

He  kissed  her  silently,  and  then  in 
five  minutes  more  they  had  said  fare- 
well to  Latham  and  were  on  their  way 
to  the  schooner. 

The  crew  soon  knew  from  him  what 
had  happened,  and  Rua  Manu,  with 
his  big  eyes  filled  with  a  wondering 
pity  as  he  looked  at  the  frail  body  and 
white  face  of  Doris  lying  on  the  sky- 
light, wore  the  schooner's  head  round 
to  the  south-west,  at  a  sign  from 
Brantley. 

"Aye,  Paranili,"  he  said,  in  his  deep, 
guttural  tones,  '*  it  is  to  Tatakoto  she 
hath  gone — 'tis  her  mother's  land.'* 


214 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

That  night,  as  she  lay  on  the  sky- 
light with  her  hand  in  his,  Doris  told 
him  all  she  klfew  : — 

"  They  were  all  kind  to  me  when 
I  went  ashore  to  your  house,  Fred, 
but  Luita  looked  so  fiercely  at  me. 
.  .  .  Her  eyes  frightened  me — they 
had  a  look  of  death  in  them. 

"  In  the  morning  your  little  child 
was  taken  ill  with  what  they  call 
tataruy  and  I  wanted  to  give  it  medi- 
cine. Luita  pushed  my  hand  away 
and  hugged  the  child  to  her  bosom  ; 
and  then  the  other  women  came  and 
made  signs  for  me  to  go  away.  And 
that  night  she  and  the  child  were 
missing,  and  one  of  your  boats  was 
gone." 

"  Poor  Luita,"  said  Brantley,  strok- 
ing Doris's  pale  cheek,  "  she  did  not 
know  you  were  my  sister.  I  never 
told  her,  Doris." 

"She  is  a  very  beautiful  woman, 
Fred.  They  told  me  at  Tahiti  that 
she  was  called  the  pearl  of  Vahitahi  ; 
and  oh  !  my  dear,  if  we  can  but  find 
her,  I  will  make  her  love  me  for  your 
sake." 


Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second 


215 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

day,  just  as  the  trade  wind  began  to 
lose  its  strength,  the  schooner  was 
running  along  the  weather-side  of 
Tatakoto,  and  Rua  Manu,  from  the 
masthead,  called  out  that  he  saw  the 
boat  lying  on  the  beach  inside  the 
lagoon,  with  her  sail  set  ;  and,  as 
landing  was  not  practical  on  the 
weather-side,  the  schooner  ran  round 
to  the  lee/' 

"  We  will  soon  know,  Doris.  It 
always  rains  in  these  islands  at  this 
time  of  the  year  ...  so  she  would 
not  suffer  as  I  once  did  ;  but  the  sail 
of  the  boat  is  still  set,  and  that  makes 
me  think  she  has  never  left  it.  Wait 
till  I  come  back  again,  Doris  ;  you 
cannot  help  me.'* 

And  Doris,  throwing  her  weak  arms 
round  his  neck,  kissed  him  with  a  sob 
and  lay  back  again  to  wait. 


With  Rua  Manu  and  two  others  of 
his  faithful  native  crew  Brantley 
walked  quickly  across  the  island  to 
the  lagoon  to  where  the  boat  lay. 
She  was  not  there,  and  the  dark  eyes 
of  his  sailors  met  his  in  a  responsive 
glow  of  hope — she  had  not  died  in 
the  boat  ! 


2l6 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

They  turned  back  into  the  silent 
aisles  of  cocoanut  palms,  and  then 
Rua  Manu  called  out  her  name. 

"Listen/*  he  said. 

A  voice — a  weak,  trembling  voice 
— was  singing  the  song  of  Talaloo. 

"  Teriinavahori,  bending  low, 

Bindeth  the  sandaU  on  Talaloo's  feet ; 
*  Hasten,  O  hasten,  lover  true, 

O'er  the  coral,  cruel  and  sharp, 
Over  the  coral,  and  sand,  and  rock. 

Snare  thee  a  turtle  for  our  marriage  feast ; 
la  ahe  !  brave  lover  mine.* " 

"  In  the  old  marae^  Paranili,"  said 
Rua  Manu,  pointing  to  the  ruined 
temple. 

Motioning  to  the  seamen  to  remain 
outside,  Brantley  entered  the  ruined 
walls  of  the  old  heathen  temple.  At 
the  far  end  was  a  little  screen  of 
cocoanut  boughs.  He  stooped  down 
and  went  in. 

A  few  minutes  passed,  and  then  his 
hand  was  thrust  out  between  the 
branches  as  a  sign  for  them  to  follow. 

One  by  one  they  came  and  sat 
beside  Brantley,  who  held  the  wasted 
figure  of  the  wanderer  in  his  arms. 
The  sound  of  his  voice  had  brought 
back   her   wavering  reason,   and  she 


217 


BY    REEF    AND    PALM. 

knew  them  all  now.  She  knew,  too, 
that  her  brief  young  life  was  ebbing 
fast ;  for,  as  each  of  the  brown  men 
pressed  their  lips  to  her  hand,  tears 
coursed  down  their  cheeks. 

"  See,  men  of  Vahitahi,  my  English- 
man hath  come  to  me,  a  fool  that  fled 
from  his  house  .  .  .  because  I  thought 
that  he  lied  to  me.  Teloma  was  it 
who  first  mocked  and  said,  '  'Tis  his 
wife  from  Beretania  who  hath  come 
to  seek  him ; '  and  then  other  girls 
laughed  and  mocked  also,  and  said, 
*  Ah-he  I  Luita,  this  fair-faced  girl 
who  sayeth  she  is  thy  husband's  sister, 
Ah'he  /  *  .  .  .  and  their  words  and 
looks  stung  me.  ...  So  at  night  I 
took  my  child  and  swam  to  the  boat. 
.  .  .  My  child,  see,  it  is  here,'*  and 
she  touched  a  little  mound  in  the  soil 
beside  her. 

There  was  a  low  murmur  of  sym- 
pathy, and  then  the  brown  men  went 
outside  and  covered  their  faces  with 
their  hands,  after  the  manner  of  their 
race  when  death  is  near,  and  waited 
in  silence. 

•  •  •  • 

Night  had  fallen  on  the  lonely 
island,  and  the  far-off  muffled  boom 
of  the  breakers  as  they  dashed  on  the 


2l8 


BY    PEFF    AND    P^T.M. 

black  ledges  of  the  weather  reef 
would  now  and  then  be  borne  into 
the  darkness  of  the  little  hut. 

"  Put  thy  face  to  mine,  Paranili,"  she 
whispered  ;  "  I  grow  cold  now." 

As  the  bearded  face  of  the  man 
bent  over  her,  one  thin,  weak  arm 
rore  waveringly  in  the  air  and  then 
fell  softly  round  his  neck,  and  Brant- 
ley, with  his  hand  upon  her  bosom, 
felt  that  her  heart  had  ceased  to  beat. 


The  next  day  he  sailed  the  schooner 
into  the  lagoon,  and  Doris  pressed 
her  lips  on  the  dead  forehead  of  the 
native  girl,  ere  she  was  laid  to  rest. 

Something  that  Doris  had  said  to 
him  as  they  walked  away  from  her 
grave  filled  Brantley's  heart  with  a 
deadly  fear,  and  as  he  took  her  in  his 
arms  his  voice  shook. 

"  Don't  say  that,  Doris.  It  cannot 
be  so  soon  as  that.  I  was  never  a 
good  man  ;  but  surely  God  will  spare 
you  to  me  a  little  longer." 

But  it  came  very  soon — on  the 
morning  of  the  day  that  he  intended 
sailing  out  of  the  lagoon  again.  Doris 
died  in  his  arms  on  board  the 
schooner,   and  Brantley   laid  her    to 


219 


BY     REEF    AND    PALM. 

rest  under  the  shade  of  a  giant  puka- 
tree  that  overshadowed  the  stones  of 
the  old  marae. 

That  night  he  called  Rua  Manu 
into  the  cabin  and  asked  him  if  he 
could  beat  his  way  back  to  Vahitahi 
in  the  schooner. 

"  'Tis  an  easy  matter,  Paranili.  So 
that  the  sky  be  clear  and  I  can  sc% 
the  stars,  then  shall  I  find  Vahitahi 
in  three  days." 

"  Good.  Then  to-morrow  take  the 
schooner  there,  and  tell  such  of  the 
people  as  desire  to  be  with  me  to 
come  here,  and  bring  with  them  all 
things  that  are  in  my  house.  It  is 
my  mind  to  live  here  at  Tatakoto." 

As  the  schooner  slipped  through 
the  narrow  passage,  he  stood  on  the 
low,  sandy  point  and  waved  his  hand 
in  farewell, 

•  •  •  • 

A  week  later  the  little  vessel 
dropped  her  anchor  in  the  lagoon 
again,  and  Rua  Manu  and  his  crew 
came  ashore  to  seek  him. 

They  found  him  lying  under  the 
shade  of  the  puka  tree  with  his 
revolver  in  his  hand  and  a  bullet- 
hole  in  his  temple. 


220 


His  Native  Wife. 


Page  io8 


HIS  NATIVE  WIFE 


By 
Louis  Becke 

Author  of  **  By  Reef  and  Palm,"  **  The 
Ebbing  of  the  Tide,"  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED 


PHILADELPHIA 

J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY 
1906 


COPTRIGHT,    1897, 
BY 

J.  B.  LippiNCOTT  Company. 


**  Neither  do  men  put  new 
wine  into  old  bottles  ;  else  the 
bottles  break  and  the  wine  run- 
neth out  and  the  bottles  perish." 


\All  rights  rtserved] 


CONTENTS. 

chap.  pagb 

i.       captain  amos  bennett  seeks 

a  new  second  mate         .     i  1 

ii.      on    board    the    "  kellet 

passmore"     .  .  .26 

iii.      the  wife  of  the  reverend 

hosea  parker         .         •     5^ 

IV.  "we       cannot        PUT        NEW 

WINE  INTO    OLD   BOTTLES  "       64 

V.  THE        FIRST       AND        SECOND 

MATES     .  .  •  •       77 

VI.  KATE    TRENTON   .  ♦  .92 

VII.  nAdee       .  .         •         .108 

VIII.  ONE    OF   THE    OLD    BOTTLES.     I20 


^  Contents 

CHAP,  PAG2 

IX.        IN  THE  BOIL  OF  THE  SURF      .  1 45 

X.         UNDER   THE    PALMS       .  .  I58 

XI.  A   CONVERT  THROUGH    LOVE.  1 77 

XII.  HIS    NATIVE    WIFE  •  •  186 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PACK 


HIS  NATIVE  WIFE    .     Frofttispiece, 


Helen!    how  can  you!"        .     72 


THE  GIRL  CAME  OVER  NEAR  HIM 
AND  PLACED  HER  HAND  ON 
THE    RAIL    .  .  .  .82 

HELD    IN    THE     ARMS    OF    A    TALL, 

SLENDER    NATIVE    GIRL  .     165 


HIS  NATIVE  WIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CAPTAIN  AMOS  BENNETT  SEEKS 
A    NEW    SECOND    MATE. 

THE  Kellet  Passmorey  of 
New  Bedford,  had  just 
dropped  anchor  in  the  Bay  of 
Islands,  and  Captain  Amos  Ben- 
nett came  ashore  to  look  for 
some  new  hands.  But  the 
skipper  of  the  Kellet  Passmore 
was  pretty  well  known,  and 
although  there  were  plenty  of 


^  His  Native  Wife 

men,  both  whites  and  natives, 
to  be  had  by  any  other  whale- 
ship  captain,  there  was  none 
anxious  to  try  his  luck  in  the 
Kellet  Passmore,  It  was  far 
better,  they  argued,  for  them 
to  do  another  month  or  two  of 
solid  loafing  ashore,  where  there 
was  plenty  of  cheap  grog  and 
where  the  charms  of  very  un- 
conventional Maori  female 
society  were  so  easily  available, 
and  wait  for  another  whale-ship 
to  come  along,  than  to  ship  in 
the  Kellet  Passmore.  For  it  was 
pretty  generally  known,  from 
Talcahuana  on  the  west  coast  of 
South  America  to  Kororareka 
in  the  Bay  of  Islands  on  the 
coast  of  New  Zealand,  that 
Captain  Bennett  wasn't  a  nice 
man  to  sail  with,  and  those  who 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

did  sail  with  him,  whether  the 
Kellet  Passmore  met  with  bad 
luck  or  "  greasy "  luck,  gene- 
rally left  her  at  the  first  port 
she  touched  at  after  a  cruise, 
with  broken  noses,  smashed  jaws 
or  fractured  ribs,  superinduced 
by  knuckle-dusters,  belaying- 
pins,  and  other  cheerless  incen- 
tives to  industry  wielded  by  the 
unsparing  hands  of  Captain 
Amos  Bennett  and  the  after- 
guard of  his  ship. 

Smoking  an  extremely  long 
and  very  strong  cigar,  Captain 
Bennett  slouched  into  the  lead- 
ing combined  store  and  grog 
shanty  which,  in  those  days,  was 
the  rendezvous  of  everyone  liv- 
ing in  the  Bay,  and  in  amiable 
tones  invited  every  one  present 
to  "  come  and  hev  suthin'." 
13 


^  His  Native  Wife 

Some  twelve  or  fifteen  men, 
whites,  Kanakas,  and  Maoris, 
who  were  loafing  about  the  store 
in  expectation  of  the  captain's 
visit,  accepted  his  invitation  with 
sundry  nods,  pushes,  and  winks 
among  themselves,  and  after 
drinking  a  stiff  tot  of  what  was 
known  locally  as  "hell  biled 
down  to  a  small  half  pint," 
Mauta,  a  Tongan  half-caste 
boat-steerer,  respectfully  asked 
the  captain  if  he  had  had  much 
luck  on  his  present  cruise. 

This  was  Captain  Bennett's 
opportunity,  and  for  the  follow- 
ing ten  minutes  he  lied  rapidly 
and  artistically  about  the  Kellet 
Passmoris  wonderful  luck  in 
past  cruises,  but  admitted  that 
on  the  present  one,  since  he  had 
left  New  Bedford  five  months 
14 


His  Native  Wife  5o^ 

before  he  had  taken  but  three 
whales,  ''  princerpully,"  he  said, 
"  on  accaount  of  some  passengers 
I  hev  aboard  who  are  in  a  h — 
of  a  hurry  ter  get  up  ter  Ponape 
in  the  Caroline  group." 

"Traders,  Captain  Bennett? " 
asked  the  storekeeper. 

"  No,"  replied  the  American, 
drawing  up  one  of  his  long  legs, 
clasping  his  lengthy  arms  around 
his  knee  and  shutting  his  left 
eye,  "  missionaries  from  Bosting, 
agoin'  daown  tew  the  Carolines 
tew  save  the  ragin'  heathen  in 
his  blindness  from  bowin'  daown 
tew  wood  an'  stone,  and  tew 
teach  them  tew  charge  a  dollar 
each  for  a  chicken  tew  the  un- 
godly and  Gentile  sailor  man." 

The  men  laughed,  and  Cap- 
tain Bennett,  without  moving  a 
15 


^  His  Native  Wife 

muscle  of  his  long,  solemn 
visage,  nodded  to  the  store- 
keeper to  fill  the  glasses  again. 

"No  wonder  you  losa  the 
whala,  captain,"  said  a  short, 
muscular  Portuguese,  who 
wanted  a  ship  but  had  no  inten- 
tion of  trying  the  Kellet  Pass- 
more  with  her  present  com- 
mander, "de  dam  missionara 
he  bringa  you  bada  lucka,  eh  ?  '* 

"Waal,"  said  Bennett,  eye- 
ing the  speaker  keenly  through 
his  half-closed  eyes,  "I  won't 
say  that  because  it's  jest  my  own 
fault.  Yew  see,  boys,  it's  jest 
this  way.  These  here  people — 
a  man  and  two  females — are 
darned  anxious  tew  get  daown 
tew  the  Carolines,  and  the 
Bosting  Board  of  Missions  paid 
me  five  hundred  dollars  each  for 
i6 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

'em,  to  give  'em  a  passage  in  my 
ship.  Consikently,  although  we 
saw  whales  often  enough,  I  only 
lowered  after  'em  three  times, 
when  they  was  close  to.  Yew 
see,  these  here  people  heving 
paid  a  big  passage  money,  air 
entitled  to  get  there  ez  quick  ez 
I  can  take  'em." 

An  incredulous  grin  went 
round  among  the  men,  which 
Bennett  affected  not  to  notice, 
then  he  resumed  by  remarking 
that  as  he  always  liked  to  do  the 
square  thing  he  was  going  to 
count  the  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
passage-money  as  part  of  the 
ship's  take. 

"  That  sounds  square,"  whis- 
pered a  white  sailor  to  a  young, 
seaman-like  man  who  sat  upon 
a  case  at  the  further  end  of  the 

17  B 


^  His  Native  Wife 

store.  "  He  can't  be  a  bad  sort. 
I'm  for  one  if  he  wants  men." 

"Lies,"  said  the  young  fellow, 
"  but  don't  let  me  stop  you.  I 
can  tell  you  all  about  him  though. 
He's  the  two  ends  and  bight  of 
a  lying  swab." 

Having  given  those  present 
two  drinks  each,  Captain  Ben- 
nett got  to  business,  and  light- 
ing another  cigar,  asked  them 
if  any  of  them  wanted  to  try 
their  luck  in  the  Kellet  Passmore. 

But  although  they  drank  his 
rum  cheerfully  and  were  willing 
to  drink  more,  and  listened  with 
stolid  complacency  to  his  allur- 
ing inducements  about  a  full 
ship  in  twelve  months,  he  talked 
in  vain. 

Then  the  deep  fountains  of 
Captain  Amos  Bennett's  nautical 
i8 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

blasphemy  were  broken  up,  and 
having  violently  cursed  each 
man  separately  and  the  lot  col- 
lectively, and  insinuated  that 
they  were  not  fit  to  tend  cows, 
let  alone  kill  whales,  he  with- 
drew to  look  for  men  elsewhere. 

•  •  •  • 

An  hour  or  two  later  he  strode 
down  towards  his  boat  with  five 
Maori  hands  in  tow.  When 
close  to  the  beach  some  one 
hailed  him  from  the  rear,  and 
the  leathern-visaged  Yankee, 
chawing  fiercely  at  his  Manilla, 
slewed  round  on  his  heel  and, 
with   needless  profanity,   asked 

the  speaker  what  the  he 

wanted. 

'*I  believe  you  want  men, 
sir." 

"Not  the  kinder  men  bum- 
19 


^  His  Native  Wife 

min'  around  here,  anyway," 
snarled  Bennett,  recognising  in 
the  man  who  spoke  to  him  the 
young  fellow  who  had  sat  upon 
the  box  in  the  corner  of  the 
store  ;  and  then  looking  at  the 
bronzed  face  and  muscular  figure 
of  his  questioner,  he  asked — 

''  Air  yew  one  of  them  Yahoos 
I  was  talkin'  to  while  back  ?  " 

"I  was  there,"  replied  the 
young  man  quietly,  "  but,"  and 
he  stepped  directly  in  front  of 
the  American,  "  if  you  call  me  a 
Yahoo  you'll  lose  a  good  man 
for  the  Kellet  Passmore^  and  get 
a  hell  of  a  bashing  into  the 
bargain." 

The  skipper  of  the  Kellet 
Passmore  was  no  coward,  but 
he  knew  he  would  stand  a  poor 
show  with  the  man  before  him. 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

and  he  wanted  men  badly.  His 
thin  face  underwent  some 
hideous  squirmings  and  con- 
tortions intended  for  an  amused 
smile. 

"  Young  feller,  yew  hev  some 
spirit ;  I  kin  see  that  right  away. 
Naow,  I  do  want  men,  and  yew 
want  a  ship,  and  the  Kellet 
Passmore  is  jest " 

"  Stow  all  that,"  said  the  man 
coolly.  "  /  know  all  about  the 
Kellet  Passmore  and  all  about 
you,  too.  Tm  willing  to  go  in 
her  for  a  cruise.  I  think  it'll 
take  a  smarter  man  than  you  to 
haze  me,  so  don't  try  it  on." 

The  audacity  of  this  speech 
seemed  to  stagger  the  Yankee 
considerably,  but  he  soon  re- 
covered himself. 

"  Yew  air  mighty  smart,  young 


^  His  Native  Wife 

feller,"  he  said  presently,  in  a 
low,  rasping  voice,  and  his  thin 
lips  parted  and  showed  his  yellow 
teeth ;  "  and  what  sorter  per- 
sition  aboard  of  my  ship  may  I 
hev  the  honour  ev  asking  yew 
to  take  ?  " 

"  Any    d d     thing    you 

like.  I  hear  you've  got  a  lot 
of  cripples  for  boat-steerers, 
and  you  can't  get  a  better  man 
than  me." 

*'Do  tell?"  and  Bennett 
grinned  sarcastically,  **  then 
you'll  be  a  darned  different  sort 
from  any  other  Britisher  that 
ever  went  whalin'.  Been  in  the 
business  long,  young  feller  ? " 

'*Ten  years  or  so,  off  and 
on,"  was  the  impatient  reply. 

The  skipper  beckoned  to  his 
boat's  crew,  who  lay  upon  their 

22 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

oars  waiting  for  him,  to  back  on 
to  the  beach,  then  with  a  quick 
glance  at  the  other  man,  he 
said — 

"  Yes,  come  .  aboard,  young 
feller  ;  I  guess  we'll  pull  to- 
gether. Seems  to  me  your  face 
is  kinder  familiar  like  tew  me. 
What  was  your  last  ship  ? " 

"  The  Wanderer y  of  Sydney." 

"  Boat-steerer  }  " 

*'  No,  not  in  the  Wanderer. 
I  was  boat-steerer  six  years  ago 
in  the  Prudence  Hopkins^  of  New 
Bedford  ;  I  was  mate  of  the 
Wanderer.  Got  any  more  ques- 
tions ? " 

Another  attempt  at  a  plea- 
sant smile  distorted  Captain 
Bennett's  features.  "  Waal, 
naow,  see  here  ;  this  is  surpris- 
in'  !  Why,  I  cert'nly  thought 
23 


^  His  Native  Wife 

I  reckernised  yew.  Yew  was 
in  the  Wanderer  in  Vavau, 
daown  in  the  Friendly  Islands, 
'bout  a  year  ago.  Why,  I  re- 
member comin'  aboard  ev  that 
thar  ship  one  day." 

"  So  do  I,"  nonchalantly  re- 
plied the  young  man  ;  "a 
couple  of  your  hands — Kanakas 
— swam  ofF  to  our  ship  from 
yours  and  you  wanted  to  get 
them  back." 

"  That's  so,  mister.  I  re- 
member the  circumstance  ex- 
actly.  Darned  lazy  cusses  they 
were,  too." 

"Think  so.?  1  don't.  We 
had  them  with  us  on  the  Wan- 
derer for  ten  months  ;  better 
men  never  struck  a  fish.  Tou 
couldn't  get  anything  out  of 
them,  though." 
24 


His  Native  Wife  §^ 

"  Mister,  I  could  not.  They 
belonged  to  the  Matelotas 
Islands,  in  the  Carolines,  and 
when  my  second  mate  started  to 
rouse  'em  around  and  knock 
some  of  their  darned  Kanaka 
laziness  outer  them,  they 
actooaly  driv  a  knife  inter  him, 
and  darned  near  killed  him." 

"Served    him   d d    well 

right,"  was  the  curt  response. 

The  American  captain  kept 
silence  for  a  while,  and  nought 
broke  the  silence  save  the  sound 
of  the  oars  as  the  boat  swept 
quickly  toward  the  Keller  Pass- 
more. 


25 


CHAPTER  11. 

ON        BOARD       THE       "   KELLET 
PASSMORE." 

TN  a  few  minutes  the  boat 
A  ranged  alongside,  the  five 
new  Maori  hands,  preceded  by 
Captain  Bennett  and  the  other 
white  man,  clambered  up  on 
deck,  and  the  boat  was  about 
to  be  passed  astern,  when  the 
skipper  called  to  the  mate. 

"  Mr.  Herrera,  I  reckon  yew 

kin'    keep  the    boat  alongside. 

Thar's  goin'  ter  be  some  changes 

aboard  this  ship  in  a  few  min- 

26 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

utes,  and  thet  boat's  goin'  ashore 
agin." 

The  mate,  a  dafk-browed, 
black-whiskered  man  of  thirty- 
five  or  so,  whose  regular  fea- 
tures and  olive  complexion 
showed  him  to  be  either  a 
Spaniard  or  a  Portuguese, 
answered  the  rasping  accents  of 
the  Yankee  skipper  with  a  soft, 
modulated  "  Aye,  aye,  sir,"  and 
nodding  a  "  Good-day,  sir,"  to 
the  stranger,  whom  he  could 
see  was  by  his  dress  and  de- 
meanour no  common  seaman, 
turned  away  to  execute  his  cap- 
tain's orders. 

"  Come  below,  mister,"  said 
Bennett,  leading  the  way  down 
below. 

There  was  no  one  in  the 
cabin  but  the  mulatto  steward, 

27 


^  His  Native  Wife 

who  was  laying  the  table,  and 
the  captain,  taking  his  seat, 
motioned  his  visitor  to  another. 

"  Yew  was  sayin',  Mr. ; 

I  disremember  naow  ef  yew 
told  me  your  name  ?  " 

"  Barrington — John  Barring- 
ton,"  said  the  other,  looking 
directly  into  Bennett's  eyes 
and  stroking  his  well-trimmed^ 
pointed  beard. 

"Waal,  Mr.  Barrington,  I 
ain't  agoin'  tew  jaw  long  over 
this  business.  I  want  men — 
that's  what  I  came  in  here  to 
this  rotten  hole  fur.  Waal,  I've 
got  five  Maoris,  and  I  reckon 
that's  all  I  will  get.  But  I  want 
a  second  mate." 

Barrington  nodded,  and  still 
stroking  his  beard,  waited  for 

more. 

28 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

"  Waal,  look  here.  I  rather 
think  you'll  suit  me,  although," 
and  here  the  skipper  scratched 
a  bony  cheek  meditatively  and 
squinted  atrociously,  **  although 
yew  air  a  Britisher,  and " 

"  And  you're  a  Down  East 
Yank,  used  to  Down  East  mates, 
and  Dago  second  mates,  and 
mangy  greasers  of  all  sorts.  I'm 
a  Britisher,  as  you  say  ;  but  if 
you  don't  want  me,  why  the 
blazes  did  you  bring  me  aboard  ? 
This  rotten  old  crate  of  yours 
isn't  the  only  whale-ship  in  the 
Pacific  !  "  and  Barrington  took 
up  his  hat. 

'*Sit  daown,  mister,  sit  daown, 
and  don't  yew  use  sich  vi'lent 
language,"  and  Bennett  indi- 
cated by  a  backward  jerk  of  his 
dirty  thumb    and    another  vil- 

29 


^  His  Native  Wife 

lainous  squint,  a  half-opened 
cabin  door  at  his  back,  "  thar's 
females  in  thar,  mister — females 
from  Bosting,"  and  he  grinned. 

Harrington  muttered  an 
apology,  not  to  the  captain,  but 
to  the  soft  murmur  of  women's 
voices  that  he  now  heard  for  the 
first  time. 

The  hatchet-faced  skipper 
pondered  a  moment,  and  then 
said  briskly, 

"  Look  here,  naow,  it's  no 
use  either  you  or  me  backin' 
and  fiUin'  in  this  ridiklous 
kinder  way.  My  second  mate 
wants  to  leave,  an'  I  ain't  too 
dreadful  anxious  to  stop  him — 
he  don't  suit  me  by  no  means. 
Naow,  yew  want  a  ship  an'  I 
want  an  officer.  I  ain't  got  but 
two  boat-headers  in  the  ship 
30 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

worth  a   cuss  ;  so   ef  yew  are 
willin',  waal,  rm  willin'.** 

"  I  don't  want  to  make  the 
cruise  with  you,  I  only  want  to 
get  up  to  the  Carolines.  If  you 
like  to  put  me  ashore  anywhere 
near  Ponape,  orTruk,or  a  little 
island  called  Losap,  I'm  willing 
to  do  second  mate's  duty  aboard. 
I  don't  want  a  *  cut  in '  if  we 
kill  any  whales  between  here 
and  there — all  I  want  is  a  pas- 
sage to  any  one  of  the  places 
I've  named." 

"  Young  man,  ef  yew  want  a 
free  passage  in  this  ship,  I  recken 
yew  hev  got  to  pay  for  it." 

"  Just  as  you  like  ;  I'm  able 
and  willing  to  pay  ;  but  then, 
mind,  I  don't  do  a  hand's  turn 
aboard  this  ship  if  I  pay  my 
passage." 

31 


^  His  Native  Wife 

''  What  might  be  your  objek, 
mister,  in  going  daown  thar  at 
all,  ef  yew  don't  mind  my 
askin'  ? " 

An  angry  reply  was  on  the 
young  man's  lips ;  but  he  stopped 
it. 

"  I  don't  see  how  the  devil  it 
concerns  you — if  I  go  as  a  pas- 
senger— but  I  will  tell  you.  I 
was  trading  down  on  Ponape  a 
little  over  two  years  ago,  and 
got  tired  of  it.  I  ran  out  of 
trade  goods,  and  had  no  money 
to  buy  any.  So  I  shipped  again 
in  the  JVa7iderer^  and  the  skipper 
landed  my  native  wife  at  Losap, 
where  her  mother's  people  be- 
long. She's  to  wait  there  till 
I  return.  Then  I'm  going  back 
to  Ponape,  or  Yap,  or  any  other 
place  where  there's  money  to  be 
32 


His  Native  Wife  So» 

made.  Tve  got  no  trade  goods, 
but  have  money  enough  to  buy 
some  from  the  first  ship  that 
comes  along." 

Bennett  considered  a  moment 
or  two  and  then  said,  "  Waal, 
young  fellow,  I  recken  we  can 
make  a  deal — whar  do  yew 
say  yew  want  to  go  ashore  ?  " 

"  Losap,  if  you  happen  to  hit 
it.  That's  where  my  wife  is 
living  ;  if  not,  Truk,  or  one  of 
the  islands  thereabouts  will  do 
me.  I'm  bound  to  get  a  pas- 
sage to  L6sap  from  Truk  in  one 
of  the  big  canoes  that  go  there 
once  a  year." 

"  It's  a  deal,  mister,  I'll  send 
my  second  mate  ashore  here, 
and  be  darned  to  him,  and  yew 
can  take  his  place.  Ef  we  don't 
get  set  too  fur  to  the  eastward  by 
33  c 


^  His  Native  Wife 

the  current — there's  nothin'  but 
ragin'  calms  and  blarsted  hurri 
canes  up  about  there  this  time 
of  the  year — I'll  land  yew   on 
Losap." 

"  Right,"  said  Barrington, 
*'  when  you  send  the  boat  ashore 
here  with  your  second  mate,  let 
your  men  get  my  chest  from 
the  store.  It's  all  ready  packed, 
and  nothing  to  pay  on  it." 

*'  Naow,  thet's  business.  I 
kin  see  that  yew  an'  me'U  git 
along  bully.  Here,  steward, 
bring  us  suthin'  to  drink,  an' 
then  tell  Mr.  Duggan  I  want 
him." 

Having  secured  a  man  whom 
he  was  sure  would  prove  a  good 
officer,  Captain  Amos  Bennett 
was  now  in  a  good  temper,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  after  he  had 
34 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

settled  with  Barrington  he  had 
told  him  all  about  the  voyage  of 
the  Keller  Passmore  since  she  had 
left  New  Bedford,  and  the  short- 
comings of  his  crew.  Then  his 
natural  inborn  curiosity  asserted 
itself  again,  and  he  began  to 
question  Barrington  as  to  his 
reasons  for  leaving  the  IVanderer^ 
"Which,  fer  a  colonial  whaler 
was  most  extror'nary  lucky." 

Drinking  ofF  his  grog,  the 
young  man  put  his  hand  inside 
his  coat,  drew  out  some  papers 
and  laid  them  on  the  table. 
There  was  an  angry  light  in 
his  eye,  which  the  inquisitive 
American  was  not  slow  to  per- 
ceive, and  he  began — 

"  Waal,  I  don't  want  to  pester 
yew  onnesscessarily  like,  but  I 

thought '' 

35 


^  His  Native  Wife 

Barrington  interrupted  him. 

"That's  all  right.  I  left  the 
Wanderer  in  Sydney  two  months 
ago,  and  came  over  here  to  look 
out  for  another  ship.  Why  I 
left  her  doesn't  concern  you. 
I  was  not  asked  to  leave  her, 
as  that  will  show  you,  Captain 
Bennett,"  and  he  handed  him  a 
letter.  "  Do  you  know  Captain 
Codrington  }  He's  a  country- 
man of  yours." 

''  Rather  think  I  did.  He's 
from  daown  my  way — Martha's 
Vineyard — an'  a  real  smart  man, 
although  he  did  take  to  whalin' 
under  the  British  flag,"  and 
Captain  Bennett  gave  an  amic- 
able snort,  and  took  the  paper 
offered  him. 

It  contained  but  a  few  lines, 
saying  that  the  writer,  William 
36 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

Codrington,  regretted  that  Bar- 
rington  had  decided  to  leave  the 
Wanderer^  and  urging  him  to 
reconsider  the  matter. 

Just  then  the  steward  came 
in,  and  Bennett,  handing  the 
letter  back,  said — 

"  Whar's  Mr.  Duggan, 
steward  ? " 

"On  deck,  sir,"  answered 
Herrera,  the  mate,  who  just 
then  came  in  the  cabin. 

*'  Send  him  down  then,"  and 
an  unpleasant  look  came  over 
Bennett's  face. 

The  mate,  as  he  turned  to  go, 
passed  the  half-opened  cabin  door 
on  the  starboard  side.  He  pulled 
it  to  gently  and,  with  something 
like  a  smile  on  his  face,  went  on 
deck  and  called  out  :  "  Mr. 
Duggan,  come  below  please." 
37 


^  His  Native  Wife 

In  a  few  seconds  a  short,  stout 
man  tramped  down  the  com- 
panion-way and  stood  in  front 
of  the  captain. 

"  Mr.  Duggan,  yew  don't  suit 
me,  and  Fm  quite  willin'  fur 
yew  tew  go  ashore '* 

"  And  Tm  d — d  glad  to  get 
clear  of  you  and  this  rotten  old 
hooker  of  a  barque.  You're  a 
lyin'  bully,  and  this  ship  ain't 
fit  for  a  white  man  to  sail  in." 

"  Not  fur  a  white-livered  sort 
like  yew,  Duggan,"  snarled  back 
Bennett.  ''  Why,  yew  ain't  fit 
fur  anything  better'n  cod- 
fishin'." 

''  He  is  too  good  and  honest 
a  man  to  remain  on  board  this 
ship.  Captain  Bennett,"  said  a 
soft  voice,  and  a  young  woman 
opened  the  cabin  door  that  the 
38 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

mate  had  closed,  and  stepped 
into  the  main  cabin. 

Bennett  dropped  his  eyes  and 
made  no  answer. 

'^  And  so  you  are  going,  Mr. 
Duggan,"  she  said,  "my  sister 
and  I  will  miss  you  very  much. 
Good-bye,"  and  she  put  her 
v/hite  hand  into  Duggan's  huge 
paw. 

"  Good-bye,  Miss  Trenton, 
and  God  bless  you,  miss,  and 
bring  you  safe  home  again." 

Almost  ere  Harrington  could 
get  more  than  a  glance  at  the 
girl's  pale  face  and  deep  hazel 
eyes,  she  had  entered  her  cabin 
again  and  closed  the  door,  and 
the  second  mate  was  addressing 
his  farewell  remarks  to  the 
captain,  the  which,  once  he  was 
assured  that  the  young  lady  was 
39 


^  His  Native  Wife 

out  of  hearing,  he  concluded  by 
consigning  Bennett  to  flames  and 
perdition  in  a  vigorous  but  lucid 
manner.  Then  he  tramped  off 
on  deck  again,  where  the  mate 
was  awaiting  him. 

"  Good-bye,  Duggan,"  said 
Herrera,  holding  out  his  hand, 
"  I  am  sorry  you  and  the  old 
man  can't  agree  ;  but  you  and 
I  part  friends,  don't  we  ?  " 

''Oh  yes  —  yes.  I've  got 
nothing  against  you.  You 
only  knock  the  men  about 
from  force  of  habit ;  Bennett 
does  it  from  pure  natural 
cussedness.  Well,  anyway,  I 
wish  the  ship  luck." 

"  Thanks.  I  don't  like  Ben- 
nett much  myself,  but  I  like  the 
old  Passmorey 

"  Especially  when  there's  a 
40 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

passenger  like  Kate  Trenton 
aboard.  Look  here,  Herrera, 
just  you  mind  your  bearings. 
You  ain't  a  fit  man  for  a  girl 
like  that." 

The  dark,  handsome  face 
flushed,  and  with  a  curt 
"  good-bye "  the  mate  walked 
away,  and  Duggan  went  down 
over  the  side  into  the  boat  and 
was  pulled  ashore. 

By  sunset  the  Kellet  Passmore 
was  underweigh  again,  heading 
for  Tongatabu,  in  the  Friendly 
Islands,  where  Bennett  intended 
cruising  for  a  few  weeks  before 
going  to  the  northward. 
•         •         •  •         • 

Just  before  supper  that  even- 
ing, Barrington  went  below  to 
get    a  pipe    of  tobacco.       The 
lamp  had  not  yet  been  lit,  and 
41 


^  His  Native  Wife 

the  spacious  cabin  of  the  old 
barque  was  in  semi-darkness. 
He  was  turning  to  go  on  deck 
again,  when  Captain  Bennett, 
who  was  standing  talking  to 
some  one,  called  him  over  and 
introduced  him  to  the  Reverend 
Hosea  Parker. 

"By  God," muttered  Barring- 
ton,  under  his  breath,  "it's  that 
meddlesome  Yankee  Baptist 
parson  that  was  always  worry- 
ing Nadee  about  her  soul,"  but 
he  put  out  his  hand. 

"  How  are  you,  Mr.  Barring- 
ton  ?  Is  it  well  with  you  ?  " 
said  the  missionary,  who  always 
affected  a  Scriptural  style  or 
address.  "  'Tis  indeed  strange 
we  meet  again." 

"  Fm  all  right,  thank  you,'* 
said  Barrington  quietly,  and 
42 


His  Native  Wife  5o» 

then  he  added,  '*  I  did  not 
imagine  it  was  you  and  Mrs. 
Parker  who  were  on  board ; 
I  trust    she  is  well." 

"Well,  I  thank  the  Lord, 
Mr.  Harrington,  she  will  be 
here  presently.  And  how 
comes  it,  Mr.  Barrington,  that 
we  meet  you  here  ?  " 

"Oh, Fm  getting  back  again. 
And  may  I  ask  the  same  question 
of  you,  Mr.  Parker.  How 
comes  it  that  you  are  so  far 
away  from  Ponape  ?  " 

"  It  pleased  Providence  that 
the  Morning  Star ^our  missionary 
ship,  should  be  cast  away  on 
Strong's  Island  a  year  back. 
My  wife  and  I,  who  were  then 
in  America,  thus  had  no  means 
of  returning  to  the  Vineyard, 
save  by  a  whale-ship." 
43 


^  His  Native  Wife 

"Ah  !  I  see,"  and  Barrington, 
who  had  no  wish  to  hear  any 
more,  went  on  deck. 

"Sez  it  was  Providence  ez 
wrecked  that  thar  brig,  does 
he  ? "  said  Captain  Bennett  to 
his  new  second  mate,  as  he 
followed  him  on  deck,  ''waal, 
ef  that  ain't  rich  !  Providence, 
hey  ?  It  was  just  because  the 
darned  wooden-headed  galoot 
of  a  captain  hed'n't  got  sense 
enough  tew  try  and  tow  her  off 
when  the  current  swep'  her  again' 
the  rocks ;  instead  of  doin'  which 
he  let  go  his  anchor  in  'bout  a 
mile  deep  of  water,  right  'long- 
side  the  reef,  and  trusted  to 
Providence.  Consikently,  when 
she  swung  round  she  bashed 
her  starn  inter  pulp  on  the  reef. 
I  hain't  got  no  patience  with 
44 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

creatures  that  get  inter  a  hell  of 
a  mess  and  then  start  yowlin' 
'bout  the  will  of  Providence  and 
sich.     It's  jes'  sickenin'." 

Half  an  hour  afterwards, 
when  Harrington  came  down  to 
supper,  Helen  Parker  rose  to 
meet  him  with  extended  hand. 
Her  face  was  deadly  pale,  but 
the  quick  eye  of  Jose  Herrera 
saw  that  her  hand  trembled  and 
a  deep  rose  colour  momentarily 
flooded  her  face  from  brow  to 
chin. 

Some  mere  common-place 
escaped  her  as  Barrington  took 
her  hand,  and  she  said — 

"  This  is  my  sister,  Mr.  Bar- 
rington. I  have  just  been  telling 
her  that  you  and  I  were  not 
strangers." 

45 


^  His  Native  Wife 

The  hazel-eyed,  curly-haired 
girl  who  sat  by  her,  rose  and 
shook  hands  with  the  new  officer, 
and  said,  with  a  straight  look 
at  the  tan-hided  countenance  of 
Amos  Bennett — 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Bar- 
rington  ?  I  am  sorry  Mr. 
Duggan  has  gone  ;  but  I  hope  I 
shall  like  you  as  much  as  I  did 
him/' 

The  new  second  mate  laughed, 
and  even  Bennett  gave  his 
cachinnatory  snuffle  ;  but  Mrs. 
Parker  kept  her  pale  face  bent 
over  her  plate,  and  did  not  raise 
it  again  till  supper  was  over. 
.         •         •         •         • 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Barrington 

that  night  to  Herrera,  as  the  two 

sat  smoking  in  the  latter's  cabin 

for  a  few  minutes,  "that  that 

46 


His  Native  Wife  5c» 

pretty  girl  is  going  down  to  the 
Carolines  to  marry  some  pasty- 
faced  Yankee  missionary  like 
the  Reverend  Hosea  Parker." 

Herrera,  who  lay  out  at  full 
length  in  his  bunk  smoking  a 
Manilla,  raised  himself  on  one 
elbow  and  looked  searchingly  at 
his  fellow-ofRcer,  his  black  eyes 
shining  and  sparkling  in  the 
darkness. 

**  Not  if  I  can  help  it,  Mr. 
Barrington,"  he  said. 

Barrington  was  startled,  but 
said  nothing ;  and  then,  Herrera, 
still  leaning  his  black  bearded 
chin  upon  his  hand,  spoke  again 
in  his  soft,  finely  modulated 
voice. 

"  Which,  Mr.  Barrington, 
think  you,  is  the  most  beautiful 
of  the  two  ?  " 

47 


^  His  Native  Wife 

"I  don't  know,  Fm  sure," 
replied  Barrington,  carelessly ; 
"both  are  good-looking." 

"  Good-looking  !  Mother  of 
God  !  Both  are  lovely — and, 
Senor  Barrington,  the  wife  of 
that  ugly  devil  of  a  padre 
looked  at  you  in  a  way  that 
I  would  give  five  years  of  my 
life  for  her  sister  to  so  look  at 
me.  My  friend,  that  woman  is 
in  love  with  you  !  " 

**You  are  mistaken,  Mr. 
Herrera,"  said  Barrington, 
coldly,  "and  I  may  as  well 
tell  you  that  I've  got  a  wife — 
as  good  a  girl  as  ever  I  want ; 
and  it's  not  in  my  nature  to  run 
after  any  one  else's  wife  ;  and 
I'm  going  back  to  her  now,  poor 
little  devil ! " 

The  dark-faced  mate  laid  back 
48 


His  Native  Wife  5o- 

again  and  smiled  softly  to  him- 
self 

Presently  he  resumed,  "  I  do 
not  want  to  ask  impertinent 
questions  of  you,  but  is  your 
wife  young  and  beautiful  ?  " 

Barrington  nodded. 

"  Ah  !  Then  you  have  no 
eyes  for  another  woman.  But 
tell  me.  Is  it  not  a  very  wonder- 
ful thing  that  such  a  beautiful 
woman  as  the  padre's — parson, 
as  you  call  him — this  padre's 
wife,  should  marry  such  a  man  ? 
Dios !  he  is  as  ugly  as  a  sun- 
fish,  and  with  no  more  brains." 

"  I  daresay  he's  a  good 
enough  man  in  his  way,"  re- 
plied Barrington  ;  "  but,  as  you 
say,  he's  got  no  brains." 

The  mate  laughed.  ''  And 
she  cares  no  more  for  him  than 
4v  ^ 


^  His  Native  Wife 

she  does  for  black  Manuel,  the 
ship's  cook  !  Truly,  it  is  won- 
derful that  so  sweet  a  woman 
should  marry  a  miserable  little 
priest." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    WIFE    OF    THE    REVEREND 
HOSEA    PARKER. 

CERTAINLY,  there  was 
something  to  wonder 
about,  for  the  Reverend  Hosea 
Parker  was  about  the  last  man 
in  the  world  one  would  expect 
to  see  a  lively  and  intelligent 
woman  marry,  for,  while  pos- 
sessing features  as  homely  as  a 
stone  jug,  they  were  not  nearly 
so  expressive.  Like  a  great 
many  of  his  colleagues,  how- 
ever, he  was  not  as  bad  as  he 
51 


^  His  Native  Wife 

looked,  and  honestly  believed 
that  Providence  intended  him 
for  a  great  mission — i.e,^  to 
convert  the  heathen  from  his 
blindness.  Until  the  age  of 
thirty  or  so  he  had,  to  use  his 
own  words,  been  "  in  the  world, 
a  worldly  man,"  earning  a  liv- 
ing as  a  compositor  on  a  Boston 
religious  newspaper  largely 
devoted  to  alarmist  statements 
about  the  vast  numbers  of  South 
Sea  Islanders  who  were  hurry- 
ing to  perdition  for  want  of 
missionary  effort.  The  con- 
fined nature  of  his  occupation 
and  a  course  of  attendances  at 
revival  meetings,  at  one  of 
which  he  fell  down  in  a  fit, 
had  led  to  a  serious  illness, 
from  which  he  recovered  a 
"concerned"  man.  Six  months 
52 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

afterwards  he  was  accepted  as 
a  "  labourer "  in  the  mission 
field  ;  and  a  natural,  rough 
eloquence  he  possessed  so 
worked  upon  the  feelings  of 
Helen  Trenton,  one  of  the 
young  members  of  a  Boston 
church  in  which  he  was  preach- 
ing one  Sunday,  that  she — in 
her  turn — went  into  hysterics. 
On  being  brought  to  she  found 
the  Rev.  Hosea  Parker  and  her 
mother  by  her  side  in  her 
parents'  house,  and  they  being 
very  wealthy  but  pious  people, 
requested  the  rugged  -  faced 
preacher  to  question  her  as  to 
whether  she  was  feeling  "  con- 
cerned." The  result  was  that 
— while  under  a  sort  of  mild 
religious  mania — twelve  months 
later  she  became  Mrs.  Hosea 
53 


^  His  Native  Wife 

and  went  out  with  him  to  the 
Caroline  Islands.  Six  years' 
residence  among  the  unconven- 
tional people  of  those  parts 
convinced  her  that  if  her  hus- 
band was  intended  for  a  saver 
of  souls  she  was  not,  and  that 
Providence  or  the  tropical 
climate  had  dealt  very  hardly 
with  her  in  the  matter  of  her 
complexion.  After  a  short 
visit  to  her  native  city,  she 
was  now  returning  with  her 
husband  with  a  despairing  feel- 
ing in  her  heart  that  she  wasn't 
so  good  a  woman  as  her  Boston 
friends  supposed  her  to  be,  and 
that  the  advent  of  a  young 
English  trader  to  Ponape, 
where  she  was  engaged  in 
hopelessly  "  labouring  "  to 
instruct  the  native  girls  in 
54 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

orthodox  morality,  had  a  good 
deal  to  do  with  it. 

But  that  was  three  or  four 
years  ago,  and  the  English 
trader  had  gone  away  out  of 
her  life  altogether,  when  one 
day  a  whale-ship  called  in  to 
buy  turtle  and  poultry  and  let 
the  crew  indulge  in  the  usual 
amusements  common  to  whalers' 
crews  in  the  North  Pacific 
Islands. 

That  evening  the  Reverend 
Hosea  Parker  had  told  her  in 
his  solemn,  wooden-headed 
manner  that  the  captain  of  the 
whaler  had  informed  him  that 
he  had  lost  one  of  his  officers 
during  the  voyage,  and  had 
shipped  Barrington  in  his  place. 

"  And  I  really  must  say, 
Helen,  that  I  am  not  sorry  to 
55 


^  His  Native  Wife 

see  that  young  man  go  away 
from  here.  His  manner  of  life 
here  is  a  standing  reproach  to 
us  both,  and  I  have  wrestled 
hard  for  him,  but  without  avail." 

"  He  is  no  worse  than  most 
of  the  white  men  in  these 
islands,  Hosea,"  she  had  said 
timidly.  "  You  must  remem- 
ber that  by  the  native  custom 
Nadee  is  his  wife — just  as  much 
as  I  am  yours.  I  am  afraid, 
Hosea,  that  you  and  I  are  a 
little  bit  prejudiced  against  John 
Barrington." 

Poor  little  woman  !  She 
wasn't  prejudiced  against  the 
good-looking,  devil-may-care 
English  trader,  but  she  in- 
cluded herself — merely  as  a 
salve  to  her  wifely  conscience. 

The  Reverend  Hosea  sat 
56 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

down  and,  placing  his  hands 
upon  his  knees,  looked  into  his 
wife's  face  with  the  same  ex- 
pression he  was  wont  to  employ 
when  reprimanding  one  of  his 
native  girl  pupils  for  indulging 
in  the  forbidden  pleasures  of  a 
heathen  dance  on  the  beach  by 
moonlight. 

*'  Have  you  possibly  for- 
gotten what  that  young  man 
said  to  me  when  I  called  upon 
him  with  reference  to  the  de- 
plorable and  wicked  life  he  is 
leading?" 

Mrs.  Hosea  had  not  for- 
gotten. Indeed,  she  had  been 
present  and  well  within  hearing 
on  the  occasion,  and  was  not 
likely  to  forget  the  incident. 

However,      being      a     wise 
woman,  she  said  nothing,  and 
57 


^  His  Native  Wife 

when  that  evening  Mr.  John 
Barrington  strolled  nonchalantly 
up  to  the  mission  house  to 
say  good-bye  to  the  Reverend 
Hosea,  to  whom,  although  he 
had  always  been  at  loggerheads 
with  him,  the  trader  bore  no 
malice,  pretty  Mrs.  Parker 
stifled  her  desire  to  cry,  and 
said  good-bye  bravely  enough. 
Then,  when  from  the  mission 
house  verandah  she  saw  the 
Tuscana  slowly  sail  out  of 
Jakoits  Harbour,  she  went  back 
into  the  sitting-room  and,  sob- 
bing softly  to  herself,  wondered 
what  would  have  happened  if 
she  had  met  handsome  Jack 
Barrington  before  the  Reverend 
Hosea  Parker  had  convinced 
her  that  she  was  a  fitting 
colleague  for  him  to  help  to 
58 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

save  the  souls  of  the  *'  perish- 
ing "  heathen  in  the  Caroline 
Islands.  And  so,  as  she 
thought,  the  one  man  who 
could  have  been  anything  to 
her  passed  away  out  of  her  life, 
and  his  absence  seemed  to  ac- 
centuate the  personal  homeli- 
ness of  feature  of  the  Reverend 
Hosea  more  and  more  every 
day,  so  much  so  that  one  day 
during  the  voyage  back  she 
told  her  sister  Kate,  who  was 
coming  out  to  the  islands  with 
her  to  stay,  that  she  didn't  care 
a  straw  about  either  the  dull- 
minded  man  she  had  married 
or  the  heathen  in  whom  he 
took  such  a  useless  interest. 

The  big  hazel  eyes  of  Kate 
Trenton     opened    in     shocked 
surprise.      The   day  had    been 
59 


^  His  Native  Wife 

close  and  sultry,  and  the  Kellef 
Passmore  was  lying  becalmed 
with  the  pitch  bubbling  up 
between  her  deck  planking,  and 
the  two  women  felt  half  stifled. 

"  Poor  Helen,"  said  the  girl, 
stroking  her  sister's  face,  *'  the 
weather  has  upset  you.  I  know 
I  feel  it  myself  Even  Mr. 
Herrera  is  going  about  wearing 
a  wide  straw  hat  instead  of  his 
usual  cap." 

"Kate,"  and  Mrs.  Parker 
sat  up  on  the  lounge  where  she 
had  been  lying  down  endea- 
vouring to  read,  "  Kate,  do  you 
know  that  Mr.  Herrera  seems 
to  take  altogether  too  much 
interest  in  you.  You  surely 
would  not  be  foolish  enough  to 
let  yourself  care  for  him  ?  " 

Kate  Trenton  turned  her  face 
60 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

away  for  a  moment  or  two  from 
her  sister's  eyes,  and  made  no 
answer,  but  her  cheek  reddened 
visibly. 

Suddenly  the  older  woman 
drew  her  down  beside  her. 

''  What  a  hypocrite  I  am, 
Kate,  to  talk  like  this  to  you. 
Of  course  I  know  you  love  him 
and  he  you,  and '' 

The  girl  put  her  hand  over 
her  sister's  mouth. 

"  Hush,  Helen,  don't  say 
that." 

"  But  I  do  say  it,  dear. 
Why  shouldn't  you  ?  Don't 
make  the  horrible  mistake  that 
I  have  made — marry  a  man  to 
please  your  parents  and  then 
meet  some  one  that  you  like 
better." 

*'  Helen  !  "    and    Kate    put 
6i 


^  His  Native  Wife 

her  arms  lovingly  around  her, 
alarmed  at  something  that 
sounded  dangerously  like  the 
first  break  of  a  sob  in  her  voice, 
"  surely,  dear,  you  have  never 
met  any  one  whom  you  have  cared 
for  in  that  manner  but  Hosea? " 

The  mention  of  Hosea's  name 
broke  up  Mrs.  Parker's  resolu- 
tion never  to  tell  Kate  anything 
about  the  matter. 

"  Yes,  I  did,"  she  whimpered, 
"and  the  horrible  part  of  it 
was  that  he  lived  quite  close  to 
us,  and  although  he  and  I  met 
very  often,  I  don't  believe  he 
ever  gave  me  a  thought,  and 
when  he  went  away  the  cruel 
wretch  asked  me  if  I  would 
mind  letting  (sob)  his  wife  stay 
with  me  (sob)  until  he  came 
(sob)  back  for  her." 
62 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

"  Helen,  what  dreadful  things 
you  are  telling  me  !  What 
does  it  all  mean?  Who  was 
this  man? " 

*'  I  might  as  well  tell  you  all 
about  it,  Kate,"  she  said  wearily. 
"  I  don't  suppose  I  shall  ever 
see  him  again,  and  I  want  you 
to  see  what  a  silly  fool  I  have 
been  about  a  man  that  I  sup- 
pose would  have  made  game 
about  ^  the  sky-pilot's  wife ' 
among  his  rough  associates  had 
he  known  that  I  cared  for  him." 

"  Poor  Helen  !  "  and  Kate 
Trenton's  hand  stole  into  hers. 


63 


CHAPTER   IV. 


INTO    OLD    BOTTLES. 

"  T  TE  was,  or  rather  had 
^  ^  been,  a  mate  on  a 
Sydney  whale-ship,  but  quar- 
relled with  his  captain  " — her 
face  flushed  scarlet — "quarrelled 
over  a  native  girl,  and  Barring- 
ton — that  was  his  name — broke 
the  captain's  jaw  with  a  blow 
of  his  fist  and  then  deserted. 
All  this  took  place  at  an  island 
hundreds  of  miles  away  from 
Ponape.  The  ship  sailed  with- 
64 


His  Native   Wife  5^ 

out  him,  and  a  few  months 
afterwards  he  turned  up  at  a 
native  village  about  four  miles 
from  the  mission  ;  he  brought 
with  him  a  young  girl  and  an 
old  hag.  The  natives  took  a 
great  liking  to  him,  and  he 
lived  with  them  for  a  month 
or  so  until  a  trading  ship  called. 
The  captain  sold  him  some 
trade  goods  ;  and  the  next 
thing  we  heard  was  that  the 
chief  had  built  him  a  house — 
for  himself  and  Nadee,  his 
native  wife." 

"  Helen  !  Surely  you  could 
never  have  cared  for  a  man 
who  would  disgrace  himself  in 
that  way,  even  had  you  been  a 
free  woman." 

Mrs.  Parker  laughed  sarcas- 
tically. 

65  B 


^  His  Native  Wife 

"  My  dear  Kate,  when  you 
have  lived  a  few  years  in  the 
islands  you  will  hold  different 
opinions  about  a  man  '  disgrac- 
ing' himself." 

"  It  is  a  disgrace,  Helen," 
said  the  girl  hotly.  ''  Suppos- 
ing one  of  our  brothers  married 
a  coloured  woman,  what  would 
you  and  I — what  would  the 
world  think  ?  " 

"  In  America  or  Europe,  that 
he  had  shocking  bad  taste — in 
the  South  Sea  Islands,  that  he 
meant  to  settle  down  and  live 
decently." 

^*  Helen  !  How  can  you,  a 
missionary's  wife,  say  such 
things  ?  What  would  your 
husband ? " 

"  My  husband,  Kate,  is  only 
a  unit  in  a  vast  crowd  of  silly 
66 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

people  who  throw  away  millions 
of  dollars  every  year  in  sending 
out  people  sillier  than  them- 
selves to  worry  heathen  people 
about  their  souls." 

''  Oh,  Helen,  Helen,  is  this 
the  end  of  your  once  great 
hope  ?  I  remember  how  fer- 
vent you  once  were  about  com- 
ing out  with  Hosea." 

"  Oh,  yes,  so  do  I,  Kate,*'  she 
answered  desperately,  pushing 
back  her  hair  wearily  from  her 
temples,  "but  I  know  better 
now.  I  wish  mother  and  father 
hadn't  been  quite  so  pious. 
Then  I  would  never  have  met 
and  married  that  estimable 
blockhead,  the  Reverend 
Ho " 

''  For  shame,  Helen." 

"  I'm  sick  and  tired  of  it  all, 
67 


-^  H[s  Native  Wife 

Kate.  If  you  were  not  with 
me  I  would  jump  overboard. 
Perhaps  if  I  hadn't  met  that 
wretched  man  I  would  have 
gone  on  all  right  to  the  end 
in  the  laudable  effort  to  put 
new  wine  into  old  bottles, 
meaning  thereby  cramming 
simple  native  minds  with 
Boston-made  theology." 

''  Helen,"  and  Kate  Trenton 
wound  her  arms  round  her 
sister's  waist,  "  I'm  so  sorry, 
dear.  Try  and  put  this  man 
out  of  your  mind." 

"  Don't  be  such  a  little  fool. 
Of  course  it's  all  finished  long 
ago  ;  but  oh,  Kit,  I  was  sorry 
to  see  him  go.  He  was  so 
different  from  every  other  man 
I  have  ever  met.  Hosea  dis- 
liked him  intensely." 
68 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

*'  Quite  right,  too,"  said  Kate, 
stoutly  ;  "  how  dared  any  man 
make  love  to  you  ?  " 

"  That  is  just  what  he  did 
not  do.  He  only  came  to  the 
mission  house  occasionally,  and 
Hosea  talked  such  dreadful 
twaddle  to  him  in  that  hideously 
stupid,  dull  voice  of  his  that  he 
was  glad  to  get  away." 

"  What  could  such  a  man  as 
he,  Helen,  have  to  talk  about 
in  common  with  your  husband." 

*'A  good  deal.  Kit.  He 
had  a  great  influence  over  the 
natives,  and  Hosea  was  jealous 
and  made  no  secret  of  it.  Some- 
times there  would  nearly  be  a 
quarrel,"  and  here  she  laughed, 
"  and  I  would  enjoy  it — any- 
thing was  better  than  listening 
to  Hosea's  monotonous  droning 
69 


^?  His  Native  Wife 

about  the  perversity  of  some 
chief  or  other  who  didn't  want 
Christianity,  but  did  want  square 
gin  and  axes  and  knives  and 
muskets,  and  refused  to  cut 
down  his  harem  to  one.  There, 
don't  be  shocked,  dear,  but  just 
sit  quietly  and  listen.  It's  such 
a  relief  for  me  to  break  out  at 
last  and  let  you  see  what  a 
scandalous  creature  I  am.  But, 
oh,  Kit,  dear,  just  imagine  what 
I  have  gone  through  for  nearly 
six  years.  Night  after  night, 
to  sit  in  the  front  room  of  the 
mission  house  and  listen  to 
Hosea  droning  out  his  transla- 
tions of  the  Scriptures  to  our 
sleepy  native  servants  ;  then  to 
go  to  bed  and  awake  suddenly 
in  the  silence  of  the  night  and 
hear  the  droning  of  the  surf — 
70 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

which  was  almost  as  bad  as 
Hosea's — on  the  reef  miles 
away.  Sometimes  I  would  get 
up  and  have  a  good  cry  and 
wish  that  I  were  dead.  Perhaps 
if  I  had  had  a  child  to  love,  the 
life  I  lived  would  have  been  less 
horrible." 

*'  Were  there  no  other  white 
men  near  you  but  that — that 
man  ? " 

"  Oh  yes,  several.  But  none 
like  him.  There  were  three 
or  four  traders  on  the  island, 
ignorant,  rough  men,  but  they 
never  came  near  the  mission, 
except  on  one  occasion  when 
one  of  them  named  Paddy  Kerr 
called  on  behalf  of  his  colleagues 
to  tell  Hosea  that  he  was  a 
meddlesome  fool,  and  that  if 
he,  or  any  of  his  native  teachers, 
71 


^  His  Native  Wife 

*  came  foolin'  around  their  way 
teachin'  natives  that  all  white 
men,  excep'  those  that  come  in 
the  Morning  Star  missionary 
ship,  was  rogues,'  they  (the 
traders)  would  duck  Hosea  in 
the  lagoon." 

"The  brutes,"  said  Kate 
Trenton,  indignantly. 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,  my  dear, 
rhere  is  a  great  deal  to  be  said 
on  both  sides.  We  missionaries 
are  a  meddlesome  lot,  Kitty, 
and  these  English  and  Ameri- 
can traders  are  men.  Dreadful 
scamps,  no  doubt,  many  of  them, 
but  then  they  came  here  long 
before  we  did,  and  I  don't  think 
it  right  for  us  to  prejudice  the 
natives  against  them." 

"  Helen  !  How  can  you  !  I 
am  afraid  that  this  trader  friend 
72 


**  Helen  !     How  can  you  !** 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

of  yours  has  done  you  no 
good." 

Mrs.  Parker  laughed  con- 
temptuously. 

"  He  has  done  me  good,  Kit 
• — he  and  the  rougher  men  he 
was  associated  with.  I  went  to 
the  islands  a  religious  pedant,  and 
my  narrow-mindedness  and  silly 
bigotry  received  some  severe 
shocks.  There,  dear,  I  won't 
shock  you  any  more.  Did  you 
hear  what  Captain  Bennett  said 
to  Hosea  last  night  at  supper 
about  baptism  by  total  immer- 
sion ? "  and  her  eyes  sparkled 
mischievously. 

*'  No,  Helen,  I  hate  the  man, 
and  always  get  away  from  the 
table  as  quickly  as  possible." 

"  You  shouldn't.  He's  very 
amusing.  Hosea  believes  that 
73 


^  His  Native  Wife 

total  immersion  is  an  all-impor- 
tant preliminary  to  future  salva- 
tion, and  asked  Mr.  Herrera — 
a  Catholic,  I  suppose — what  his 
opinion  was  ? " 

''What  did  Mr.  Herrera 
say  ? "  asked  Kate,  showing 
interest  enough  now. 

"  Oh  nothing,  merely  bowed, 
said  he  didn't  know,  and  asked 
Bennett  if  he  intended  bending 
on  a  new  fore-topmast  staysail. 
I  suppose  he  wanted  to  get  on 
deck  after  you." 

"Don't  Helen." 

"Never  mind,  dear.  Well, 
then  Hosea  asked  Mr.  Duggan, 
who  only  shook  his  head  in 
agony  and  nearly  choked  him- 
self with  a  pie:e  of  meat  ;  then 
he  asked  Captain  Bennett. 
*  Waal,  sir,'  said  Bennett,  '  may 
74 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

be  yew  air  right  and  may 
be  yew  air  wrong.  Ez  fur  me, 
I  was  jest  sprinkled  in  the 
or'nary  way  by  old  Parson 
Wicks,  of  Marblehead,  an'  I 
reckon  my  old  mother  thought 
I  had  jest  ez  much  chance  of 
salvation  ez  if  I'd  hev  been 
anchored  by  the  neck  in  the 
Mississippi  fur  a  month.'  " 

The  younger  woman  smiled, 
but  then  looked  at  her  sister  in 
surprise.  She  had  never  heard 
her  talk  like  this  before,  and 
never  knew  that  her  life  had 
not  been  a  happy  one. 

"  Come  on  deck,  Helen,"  she 
said,  presently.  "  I  hear  them 
hauling  the  yards  round  and  can 
feel  the  ship  moving  again.  I 
am  so  glad.  The  language  that 
man  Bennett  uses  to  the  crew 
75 


^  His  Native  Wife 

terrifies  me,  and  I  shall  be  glad 
when  the  voyage  is  over.'' 

They  went  on  deck,  and  as 
the  Kelkt  Passmore  heeled 
slightly  to  the  breeze  that  came 
rippling  over  the  water,  the 
mate  came  up  to  them,  and, 
though  he  spoke  to  both,  his 
eyes  were  for  sweet-faced  Kate 
Trenton  alone. 

"  We  have  got  the  breeze  at 
last,  ladies  ;  by  to-morrow 
morning  we  shall  be  in  the 
Bay  of  Islands.  Captain  Ben- 
nett and  Mr.  Duggan  have 
quarrelled  again,  and  we  are 
going  in  there  to  try  and  get 
another  officer  in  his  place  and 
some  more  men  as  well." 


76 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    FIRST    AND    SECOND 
MATES. 

THREE  months  had  passed, 
and  the  Kellet  Passmore 
had  crawled  lazily  along  from 
the  coast  of  New  Zealand  to 
the  Friendly  Islands,  and  then 
from  the  Friendlies  northwards 
and  westward  towards  the 
Carolines,  till  one  morning 
she  lay  in  sight  of  the  little 
island  group  of  Losap. 

The  wind  was  light,  so  light 
77 


^  His  Native  Wife 

that  the  old  barque  could  scarce 
feel  her  helm  as  she  rose  and 
fell  to  the  gentle  ocean  swell. 
The  islands  lay  about  three 
miles  to  windward — four  small 
green  spots  of  thickly-cluster- 
ing palms,  encircled  by  a  wide 
sweep  of  reef  some  ten  or  fifteen 
miles  in  circumference.  On  the 
north-east  horn  of  the  reef  was 
the  main  island  of  the  four,  a 
thick  mass  of  cocoanut  trees 
and  pandanus  palms  ;  and  five 
miles  away,  at  the  extreme 
southern  end,  were  the  three 
smaller  islets.  These,  too,  were 
covered  with  vegetation  —  a 
dense  and  tangled  fringe  of 
low,  light-green  scrub,  growing 
down  to  the  beach,  in  the  centre 
a  few  scattered  clumps  of  coco- 
nuts, growing  in  twos  and 
78 


His  Native  Wife  &^ 

threes,  lifted  their  stately  plumes 
high  above. 

Presently,  John  Harrington, 
who  knew  the  place  well,  came 
aft,  and  after  a  turn  or  two 
along  the  deck,  stopped  and 
looked  over  toward  the  land. 

"  Lovely  little  spot,  isn't 
it  .'^  "  he  said,  turning  to  Mrs. 
Hosea  and  her  sister,  who  were 
sitting  close  together  in  two 
deck-chairs. 

Kate  Trenton  smiled  and 
nodded  ;  she  had  grown  to 
like  Harrington  ;  but  her  sister, 
save  for  a  faint  pink  flush  that 
came  and  vanished  quickly,  took 
no  notice  of  his  remark,  and 
bent  her  face  down  over  her 
book. 

Six  weeks  before,  when  she 
had  met  him  first  at  the  cabin 
79 


^  His  Native  Wife 

table,  her  heart  had  leaped  at  the 
sight  of  him,  only  to  die  away 
within  her  when  she  found  that, 
either  designedly  or  from  utter 
indifference,  he  scarcely  spoke 
to  her  beyond  the  requirements 
of  common  courtesy.  And 
from  that  evening  to  the 
present  time  he  had  seldom 
spoken  to  her  directly.  But 
that  "  the  little  she-missionary/* 
as  he  used  mentally  to  call  her, 
had  ever — at  any  time — given 
him  a  thought,  John  Barrington 
never  suspected,  and  while  on 
the  island  in  the  olden  days,  he 
had  never  been  nervous  or  em- 
barrassed in  her  presence,  he 
was  so  now,  simply  because  he 
felt  that  both  she  and  her  sister 
were  beings  so  immeasurably 
above  him  in  their  thoughts  and 
80 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

life,  that  they  could  not  but 
regard  him  with  that  feeling  of 
antagonism  natural  to  educated 
and  refined  women  who  come 
in  contact  with  men  of  loose 
habits  and  South  Sea  morals 
generally,  like  himself.  And 
no  one  knew  better  than  he 
did  his  own  failings.  Had  she 
come  to  him  in  his  island  home 
and  preached  to  him  on  the  evil 
of  his  ways,  he  would  have  given 
her  a  very  sharp  answer  ;  but 
here,  on  board  ship,  it  was  a 
very  different  matter,  and  had 
she  reproached  him  now  about 
his  past  existence  when  he  had 
lived  near  her  and  her  husband 
at  the  mission  station,  he  felt 
he  would  be  utterly  incapable 
of  making  any  defence.  Not 
that  Mr.  John  Harrington  was 

8l  F 


^  His  Native  Wife 

in  the  slightest  degree  ashamed 
of  his  manner  of  life  as  an 
Island  trader,  and  indeed,  he 
would  express  himself  in  verj 
vigorous  terms  to  the  Reverend 
Hosea  when  that  gentleman 
would  make  any  allusion  to  the 
wickedness  of  white  traders  ; 
but  at  the  same  time  he  was 
conscious  that  he  could  not  use 
the  same  arguments  to  a  young 
and  pretty  white  lady  as  he 
could  to  her  husband. 

**  Are  we  going  to  send  a 
boat  ashore  here,  Mr.  Barring- 
ton  ?  "  asked  Kate  Trenton 
presently. 

*'  I  think  so,  Miss  Trenton," 
he  replied,  and  then,  as  the  girl 
came  over  near  him  and  placed 
her  hand  on  the  rail  while  she 
looked  at  the  nearing  land,  he 
82 


The  girl  came  over  near  him  and  placed  her  hand 
on  the  rail. 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

added  in  a  lower  voice  and  with 
a  slight  smile — 

"  Mr.  Parker  wants  Captain 
Bennett  to  let  him  go  ashore  and 
ascertain  if  the  native  chief  will 
consent  to  a  teacher  landing 
here  the  next  time  the  Morning 
Star  missionary  brig  calls  here." 

"  Why  do  you  laugh,  Mr. 
Harrington  ?  Is  not  my  brother- 
in-law  doing  his  duty  to  his 
conscience  .?  I  know  you  don't 
like  him  —  neither  does  Mr. 
Herrera  ;  but  I  am  sure  you 
must  feel  he  is  a  good  man." 

Barrington  was  silent.  He 
detested  the  jug-faced  mission- 
ary most  cordially,  but  wasn't 
going  to  say  so  to  the  girl. 

"  I   was  not  laughing  at  his 
desire     to     go     ashore.     Miss 
Trenton   ;      but      because     of 
83 


^  His  Native  Wife 

Captain  Bennett's  remark  when 
Mr.  Parker  asked  him  to  lower 
a  boat." 

"  What  was  it  ?  "  said  the 
girl  with  a  bright  smile,  looking 
up  into  his  face  ;  "  he's  a 
horrible  creature,  but  does  say- 
such  amusing  things.  What 
did  he  say  ?  " 

Barrington,  shutting  his  left 
eye  and  scratching  his  cheek, 
imitated  the  captain's  "  Down 
East "  drawl  to  perfection. 

** '  Want  to  go  ashore,  hey  ? 
Waal,  I  don't  mind,'  then, 
calling  to  the  mate,  '  Mr. 
Herrera,  tell  the  third  mate  to 
get  his  boat  ready.  Mr.  Parker 
wants  to  go  ashore  to  indooce 
the  natives  to  accep'  the  Gaws- 
pil,  and  I  want  to  buy  some 
hogs.'  " 

84 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

Kate  smothered  a  laugh  and 
turned  away,  and  just  then 
Captain  Bennett  slouched  up 
on  deck,  smoking,  or  rather 
chewing,  his  inevitable  cigar. 
''  Howdy,  ladies.  Nice  day, 
aint  it  ?  Mr.  Barrington,  Fm 
sendin'  two  boats  away — the 
first  mate's  and  your's  ;  and 
ez  I  believe  that  yew  intend 
to  stay  here,  I'll  feel  obliged  to 
yew  if  yew'll  help  Mr.  Herrera 
tew  buy  some  hogs  for  the 
ship." 

Helen  Parker  raised  her  face, 
and  Kate  saw  that  she  was 
deathly  pale.  Neither  of  them 
knew  that  Barrington  intended 
leaving  the  ship  so  soon. 

*' Aye,  aye,  sir.  I  think  I  can 
do  that.  I  know  the  people 
pretty  well.  They  are  a  rough 
85 


^  His  Native  Wife 

lot,  but  I  understand  their 
ways." 

"  He,  he,  he,"  sniggered 
Bennett,  who  was  disposed  to 
make  himself  pleasant  to  his 
officer,  who  only  a  week  before 
had  made  fast  to  and  killed  the 
largest  whale  they  had  yet 
taken.  "  He,  he,  he  ;  so  this 
is  the  island  whar  that  nice 
young  wife  of  yours  ez 
livin." 

A  quick  glance  at  Kate 
Trenton  and  her  sister  showed 
Barrington  that  they  had  heard ; 
they  were  both  looking  straight 
at  him,  wondering  what  his 
answer  would  be. 

The  answer  he  made  Bennett 

was  given  in  such  a  low  tone 

that    neither   of   them    caught 

more  than  the  last  words,  which 

86 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

were  '^  and  you  mind  your  own 
— business." 

Then,  with  a  black  look  on 
his  face,  Barrington  went  on  to 
the  main  deck  to  see  to  his  boat. 

"  Thet's  a  most  ontractable 
young  man,"  said  Bennett  to 
Hosea  Parker,  who  had  now 
come  up  on  deck  in  readiness 
to  go  ashore  ;  "  he's  mighty 
tetchy  about  nothin'  —  why, 
most  everybody  daown  in  these 
parts  marries  native  women. 
He  ain't  got  no  call  to  git  so 
mad " 

"He  will  be  called  to  account 
for  it  some  day,  my  friend.  It 
is  terrible  to  think  that  men 
like  him,  engaged  in  such  a 
dangerous  avocation,  and  who 
may  be  cut  off  by  the  hand  of 

Provi " 

87 


^  His  Native  Wife 

"  Land  alive,  parson  ;  yew 
do  skeer  me  !  I  hope  Provi- 
dence ain't  agoin'  to  cut  off 
any  of  my  young  men — an'  me 
with  only  two  hundred  and 
seventeen  barrels  of  ile  in  the 
ship  !  Sech  a  possibility  as 
thet  jest  gives  me  a  cold  chill 
daown  the  back,"  and  the 
skipper  of  the  Passmore,  with 
a  grin  on  his  face,  shambled 
away  below  again  to  get  some 
trade  goods  together  with  which 
to  buy  the  hogs  he  wanted. 
Hogs  are  not  a  pleasant  subject ; 
but  hogs  meant  a  great  deal  to 
Captain  Amos  Bennett,  and, 
indeed,  everybody  else  on  board 
the  Keller  Passmore^  for  she 
was  out  of  provisions. 

The  original  crew  of  the 
barque  who  had  sailed  with  her 
88 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

from  New  Bedford,  had  deserted 
her  either  one  by  one  or  in 
batches  at  the  various  ports  she 
had  touched  at,  and  when  Ben- 
nett had  put  into  the  Bay  of 
Islands  there  was  scarcely  one 
of  them  remaining  on  board. 
Those  who  had  been  shipped 
in  their  places  were  either 
Chilenos  or  Portuguese — men 
whom  it  would  not  have  been 
safe  for  Bennett  to  have  knocked 
about  as  he  did  those  who  had 
run  away.  The  use  of  foul 
language  and  reflections  upon 
their  parentage  they  accepted 
as  a  matter  of  course  from  the 
captain — especially  if  a  whale 
was  lost  or  a  boat  stove  in — 
but  a  blow  was  quite  another 
matter  ;  and  Bennett  knew 
that  as  well  as  any  one  on 
89 


^  His  Native  Wife 

board,  and  regulated  his  conduct 
to  them  accordingly.  And 
then,  in  the  first  mate,  Joseph 
Herrera,  many  of  them  had, 
if  not  a  countryman,  one  whom 
they  regarded  as  such  ;  and 
Amos  Bennett  knew  too,  that 
under  that  smooth-featured, 
effeminate-looking  face  there 
lurked  the  spirit  of  a  tiger, 
and  that  although  the  mate  was 
quick  to  come  to  his  aid  and 
uphold  his  authority  when  there 
was  any  trouble  with  the  crew, 
he  was  a  dangerous  man  to 
insult  or  cross.  Besides  this, 
he  was  a  good  seaman,  a  splen- 
did officer,  and  an  able  navi- 
gator— which  latter  Bennett  was 
not.  Therefore,  he  valued  him, 
but  at  the  same  time  secretly 
despised  him  as  a  "  Dago,"  and 
90 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

took  a  malignant  pleasure  in 
always  letting  Hosea  Parker 
know  that  Kate  Trenton  was 
on  deck  "  a-talking  to  that  mate 
of  mine/*  with  the  result  that 
the  pious  Hosea  would  beckon 
her  away  and  reprove  her  for 
wasting  the  officer's  time. 


91 


CHAPTER  VI. 

KATE    TRENTON. 

A  ND  Herrera,  although  he 
-^^  did  his  duty  with  a 
smiling  face,  and  apparently 
took  no  notice  of  the  daily 
mutterings  of  the  crew  about 
the  bad  food  and  the  brutalities 
of  the  captain  and  the  third  and 
fourth  mates,  only  bided  his 
time.  He  had,  from  the  very 
day  that  Kate  Trenton  had 
come  on  board,  fallen  violently 
in  love  with  her  pink  and  white 
beauty,  and  as  the  voyage  wore 
92 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

on  had  had  plenty  of  opportu- 
nities of  seeing  her  and  talking 
to  her  alone.  Long  before  the 
barque  had  let  go  the  anchor  in 
the  Bay  of  Islands,  Amos  Ben- 
nett noticed  that  a  curious 
change  had  come  over  his  chief 
mate,  who,  always  a  reserved 
man,  now  seemed  quieter  than 
ever,  and  treated  the  pottery- 
faced  Hosea  Parker  with  such 
an  affectation  of  respect  that, 
while  it  did  not  deceive  Ben- 
nett, convinced  the  missionary 
that  Joseph  Herrera,  whom  he 
at  first  considered  a  lost  man 
— being  a  Papist — was  about  to 
be  saved  through  his  (Hosea's) 
instrumentality.  And  it  suited 
the  wily,  handsome  Bonin  Island 
Portuguese  to  let  him  think 
so,  for  it  gave  him  further 
93 


^  His  Native  Wife 

chances  to  talk  to  the  girl,  and 
deepen  in  her  the  feeling  of  in- 
terest that  he  had  aroused  by 
his  stories  of  the  wild  scenes 
and  strange  adventures  he  had 
passed  through  in  his  wander- 
ings of  twenty  years  in  South 
Sea  whalers. 

So  it  was  no  wonder  that 
one  evening  as  the  old  barque 
slid  softly  along  under  her 
shortened  canvas,  and  the  watch 
on  deck  lay  about,  looking  up 
at  the  star-spangled  heavens,  and 
the  warm  breath  of  the  trade 
wind  fanned  Kate  Trenton's 
cheek,  that  Herrera's  chance 
came. 

She  was  just  about  to  go 
below,  and  stopping  for  a  mo- 
ment at  the  companion-way, 
held  out  her  hand  to  the  mate. 
94 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

**  Good  night,  Mr.  Herrera. 
I  wish  I  could  stay  on  deck. 
It  is  such   a  lovely  night." 

His  brown,  sinewy,  but 
shapely  hand  closed  over  hers, 
and  his  black  eyes  glowed  and 
shone  with  passionate  ardour. 

''Good  night,"  he  said,  speak- 
ing in  a  voice  scarce  above  a 
whisper,  but  still  holding  the 
girl's  hand,  and  then  he  drew 
her  unresistingly  to  him  and 
kissed  her  on  the  lips. 

In  another  moment  she  had 
fled  below,  and  Jose  Herrera, 
with  flashing  eyes  and  his  white 
teeth  showing  in  a  triumphant 
smile,  paced  the  deck  and  talked 
to  himself. 

"  Holy  Saints  above  !  She 
is  mine  now.  And  to  get  her 
I  am  ready  for  anything — even 
95 


^  His  Native  Wife 

to  cutting  the  throat  of  the 
flat-faced  Padre  Parker/' 

And  then  as  the  ship  rippled 
along  over  the  star-lit  sea,  he 
made  up  his  plan  of  action. 
She  did  not  intend  to  leave  her 
sister,  at  least  not  for  a  couple 
of  years,  and  in  a  couple  of 
years  a  great  deal  might  hap- 
pen— she  might  meet  another 
man. 

From  that  evening  Jose  Her- 
rera  began  to  ingratiate  himself 
with  some  ot  the  crew.  He 
did  not  mean  to  resort  to  vio- 
lence to  attain  the  object  he 
had  in  view  if  it  could  be  man- 
aged quietly  ;  if  it  could  not — 
well,  so  much  the  worse  for 
those  who  might  oppose  him* 
He  simply  meant  to  run  away 
from  the  ship  in  one  of  her 
96 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

boats,  and  take  Kate  Trenton 
with  him  to  his  native  land,  the 
Bonin  Islands.  But  to  do  this 
he  would  need  the  assistance  of 
some  of  the  crew.  In  a  day  or 
so  more  the  Kellet  Passmore 
would  be  at  an  island  where  he 
hoped  to  put  his  plan  into  exe- 
cution. And  so,  never  doubt- 
ing for  a  moment  his  power 
over  Kate  Trenton,  he  went 
about  his  work  quite  satisfied 
that  the  girl  would  come  away 
with  him  when  the  time  came. 

**  We  are  sure  to  call  off 
Truk,"  he  thought,  "and  it 
will  be  easy  enough  to  get  away 
in  my  boat  to  one  of  the  islands 
in  Truk  Lagoon,  and  hide  there 
till  the  ship  goes  off  without  us. 
I  don't  think  Amos  Bennett 
would  care  to  come  and  look 
97  G 


^  His  Native  Wf^ 

for  me  and  four  other  armed 
men,  all  of  whom  would  will- 
ingly cut  his  lean  throat  rather 
than  be  taken  back  to  the 
ship." 

Just  as  Amos  Bennett  went 
into  his  cabin  to  pick  out  some 
trade  goods  to  send  ashore  in 
the  boats,  Mrs.  Parker  opened 
her  cabin  door  and  came  out, 
followed  by  Kate  Trenton  and 
the  Reverend  Hosea. 

''  Captain  Bennett,  my  sister 
and  I  would  like  to  go  ashore 
with  Mr.  Parker." 

"  Waal,  ladies,  ef  I  was  yew 
I  wouldn't,"  said  the  captain, 
who  was  busily  engaged  in 
digging  out  cakes  of  tobacco 
from  a  small  case  with  his 
pocket-knife  ;  these  here  Loo- 
98 


His  Native  Wife  So» 

sap  natives  don't  cotton  much 
to  strangers,  and  ef  anything 
onpleasant  occurred,  why,  I 
should  feel  myself  to  blame  fur 
lettin'  yew  go  in  the  boats. 
Yew  see,  ladies,  these  Loosap 
people  air  a  very  excitable  lot, 
an'  the  least  thing  might  make 
an  onpleasantness  between  them 
and  my  boats'  crews." 

''  Oh,  Hosea,  don't  go,"  said 
Kate  Trenton.  "  Mr.  Barring- 
ton,  too,  was  telling  me  this 
morning  that,  unlike  most  of 
the  Caroline  Islanders,  these 
natives  do  not  care  for  visits 
from  strangers,  and  that  when 
he  lived  here  some  years  ago  the 
whale-ships  that  called  for  fresh 
provisions  had  great  trouble  in 
inducing  the  natives  to  sell  them 
anything." 

99 


^  His  Native  Wife 

The  Reverend  Hosea,  how- 
ever, was  not  alarmed.  Already 
he  could  see  in  the  Society's 
magazine  an  account  stating 
how  "  the  Reverend  Hosea  Par- 
ker, the  earnest  and  intrepid 
missionary,  had  planted  the  Seed 
at  Losap,"  and,  indeed,  the 
honest  man  had  any  amount  of 
a  stupid,  tactless  courage. 

"  It  is  my  duty,  Kate,  and, 
besides  that,  I  have  long  wished 
to  see  these  people  and  give 
them  the  Light.  This  is  the 
island,  too,  that  that  unfortunate 
girl  Nadee  belongs  to ;  perchance 
she  may  be  here  now,  and " 

Mrs.  Parker's  mouth  har- 
dened suddenly  at  the  mention 
of  the  name  of  Barrington's 
native  wife,  and  she  interrupted 
her  husband. 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

*^  I  am  determined  to  go 
ashore.  Both  Kate  and  I 
would  go  mad,  cooped  up  on 
board.  If  it  is  only  to  put  my 
foot  on  the  beach  for  a  moment, 
and  then  be  capsized  in  the  boat 
coming  out,  I  would  go." 

''  Waal,  jest  as  yew  please, 
ladies.  If  Mr.  Parker  is  will- 
in',  I  don't  object.  Oh,  is 
that  you,  Mr.  Harrington  ? 
Here's  the  terbacker  and  other 
things.  These  here  ladies  are 
a  goin'  ashore  with  you  an' 
Parson  Parker." 

Harrington's  face  showed  an- 
noyance. 

'*  It  is  a  bad  landing-place, 
Mrs.  Parker,"  he  said.  ''What 
the  devil  did  the  women  want 
to  come  for ?''  he  thought. 

''  Is     it  ?  "     she     answered, 


^  His  Native  Wife 

coolly.  "Well,  FU  take  all 
risks.  You  don't  look  very 
pleased,  Mr.  Barrington,  at 
having  our  company." 

There  was  a  sarcastic  ring  in 
the  laugh  that  ended  her  speech, 
and  Barrington  was  nettled,  and 
showed  it.  He  was  not  pleased 
at  the  prospect,  for  two  reasons ; 
the  first  was  that  the  women 
might  get  drenched  going  over 
the  reef;  the  second  was  that 
he  did  not  want  them  to 
witness  his  meeting  with  his 
wife. 

"  Just  as  you  please,  Mrs. 
Parker  ;  but  in  addition  to  the 
chances  of  us  getting  a  wetting 
in  going  ashore  and  in  coming 
out  loaded  up  with  turtle  and 
pigs,  I  don't  think  you  will 
like  the  people  ;  they  are  very 

102 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

reserved  and  suspicious  of 
strangers,  and  the  women 
always  retire  till  they  are 
gone." 

"  Oh,  what  a  shame  ! "  said 
Miss  Trenton,  puckering  up 
her  dark  eyebrows,  "  and  I  so 
wanted  to  see  them  ;  I  am  told 
that  they  are  very  handsome. 
Are  they,  Mr.  Harrington  ?  " 

Harrington  felt  somewhat 
ashamed.  Kate  Trenton's  in- 
nocent eyes,  the  reflex  of  her 
pure  and  innocent  mind,  always 
did  make  him  feel  ashamed 
when  by  any  chance  the  talk 
turned  upon  native  women. 
He  thought  that  her  sister  dis- 
liked him  strongly,  and  had 
given  her  a  pretty  bad  account 
of  him  ;  else  why  did  Mrs. 
Parker  so  pointedly  avoid 
103 


-«5  His  Native  Wife 

speaking  to  him  when  they 
met  on  deck.  So,  with  some- 
thing like  a  woman's  blush,  he 
answered — 

"Some  of  them  are  very 
handsome,   Miss  Trenton." 

"  But  few  so  handsome  as 
Nadee.?" 

The  second  mate  turned 
sharply  and  looked  at  the  mis- 
sionary's wife.  She  was  sitting 
in  the  captain's  chair,  leaning 
her  cheek  upon  one  hand. 
There  was  a  curious,  defiant 
glitter  in  her  eyes  as  she  met 
his  glance. 

''  D n    her  !  "    he    said, 

under  his  breath.  "  She  wants 
to  show  me  up  again  before  her 

sister.     Why  the can't  she 

leave  me  alone."     Then  a  quick 

feeling  of  anger  came  over  him. 

104 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

*'  As  you  say,  Mrs.  Parker, 
few  are  so  handsome  as  Nadee ; 
and  few  or  none  are  as  good." 

The  colour  died  away  on 
Mrs.  Parker's  face,  and  then, 
with  a  little  sneering  laugh,  she 
rose  and  went  into  her  cabin. 

Something  made  Kate  Tren- 
ton lift  her  honest  brown  eyes 
to  Barrington's,  and  then  she 
impulsively  held  out  her  hand 
to  him.  He  took  it  quickly, 
pressed  it,  and  then  raising  his 
hat  to  her,  went  up  on  deck. 

"  Dear  little  woman,"  he  said 
to  himself.  "  I  do  believe  she'd 
meet  Nadee  and  not  think  she 
was  such  a  terribly  bad  lot  after 
all.  By  God,  if  I  thought  Her- 
rera  meant  to  harm  Kate  Tren- 
ton, I'd  spoil  his  beauty." 

•         •         •         • 

105 


-^  His  Native  Wife 

In  the  Reverend  Hosea's 
cabin  his  wife  was  savagely 
drying  her  eyes  with  her  hand- 
kerchief when  Kate  entered. 

"Are  you  ready,  Helen?'' 
she  began  ;  and  then  she 
stopped,  and  tears  of  sympath) 
filled  her  eyes. 

"  Helen,  dear.  We  will  not 
go.  You  look  quite  ill.  What 
is  the  matter  f  " 

"  Nothing,"  she  answered, 
brusquely  ;  "  only  that  I'm 
a  fool  and  only  knew  it 
thoroughly  just  now.  Let  us 
go  by  all  means.  I  don't  care 
a  fig  about  the  heathen,  but 
I  do  want  to  go  ashore, 
out  of  this  miserable,  stuffy 
cabin,  and  get  a  walk  on  the 
beach." 

The  black  beard  and  dark, 
io6 


His  Native  Wife  So^ 

handsome  face  of  the  mate  ap- 
peared over  the  skylight. 

''  The  boats  are  ready,  ladies; 
Mr.  Parker  is  getting  quite  im- 
patient." 

"  Come,  Helen,"  her  sister 
said,  in  a  whisper  ;  "  you  will 
feel  better  soon." 


107 


CHAPTER  VIL 

NADEE. 

« 'r-p^j5     ^      whale-ship,     my 

^  mother,  for  when  she 
lifts  to  the  swell  of  the  ocean 
I  can  see  her  many  boats 
hoisted  high  up  over  the 
side." 

Nadee,  standing  out  in  front 
of  the  russet  -  thatched  high- 
peaked  house  in  the  native 
village,  leans  her  lithe  young 
figure  against  the  bole  of  a 
cocoanut  tree,  and  shading  her 
eyes  against  the  glare  of  the 
io8 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

morning  sun  with  her  little 
brown  hands,  looks  steadily 
once  more  out  eastward  over 
the  sea  towards  the  ship. 

"  Come  thou  inside,  child," 
answered  a  voice  tremulous 
with  age,  ''who  but  thee,  O 
one  with  little  thought,  would 
stand  out  there  in  the  blazing 
sun  to  look  at  a  ship.  What 
hath  the  ship  to  do  with 
thee  ?  " 

'T'he  girl  laughed  joyously 
at  the  question  of  old  Tariva, 
whom  she  called  mother,  but 
who  was  really  her  grandmother 
and  the  only  one  of  her  blood 
alive  ;  then  she  answered,  still 
shading  her  eyes  as  she  watched 
the  ship. 

"  It  may  be  mother,  that 
my  husband  cometh.  Who 
109 


^  His  Native  Wife 

can  tell  ?  And  twenty  and 
five  mahins  ^  have  come  and 
gone  since  he  left  us,  and  he 
said  that  he  would  come  again 
in  twenty.** 

"  Foolish  child  !  And  does  it 
take  thee  five  moons  to  learn  that 
he  is  a  liar  and  thou  a  fool  ?  '* 

The  girl's  head  drooped, 
her  cloud  of  wavy  hair  fell 
around  her  face,  and  she 
worked  one  of  her  bared  feet 
slowly  to  and  fro  in  the  heated 
sand  and  broken  coral  pebble 
on  which  she  stood.  For  a 
minute  or  so  she  made  no 
answer,  and  then  slowly  walked 
towards  the  house,  passed  the 
opened  door  of  thatch,  and 
disappeared. 

•  •  •  •  • 

*  Months, 
no 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

Within,  an  old  woman  with 
wrinkled  face  and  snow-white 
hair  falling  in  ragged  tails 
down  her  brown  and  naked 
back,  was  seated  cross  -  legged 
before  a  tiny  fire  of  charcoal. 
With  one  hand  she  fanned  the 
coals,  and  with  the  other 
stirred  some  liquid  that  bubbled 
and  frothed  in  a  halved  cocoa- 
nut  shell  set  in  among  the 
embers. 

Softly  but  steadily  the  old 
grandam  flapped  the  broad  fan 
she  held  in  her  hand,  and 
peered  anxiously  into  the  shell, 
and  as  she  tanned  she  muttered 
and  crooned  to  herself. 

"  Did  I  not   tell  her  so  .  .  . 

Jaki  I    is    but    as   other    white 

men.      And  the  twenty  mahin 

»  Jack. 
Ill 


^  His  Native  Wife 

have  passed  and  gone,  and  five 
more  .  .  .  Guk  !  the  girl  is  a 
fool.  He  hath  wearied  of  her 
and  will  return  not." 

She  lifted  out  the  shell  and 
set  it  beside  her,  for  the  heat 
had  now  began  to  crack  and 
warp  it ;  then  taking  up  another 
one  from  a  number  that  lay 
beside  her,  she  set  it  among 
the  coals  and  poured  back  into 
it  the  liquid  from  the  charred 
shell. 

"Aye,  they  be  all  alike 
those  white  men  ...  ah,  it 
boileth  again  .  .  .  Nadee,  come 
thou  and  see  to  it.  Thy  eyes 
are  better  than  mine." 

No  answer  came  from  the 
girl,  who,  though  the  old  dame 
knew  it  not,  was  seated  with 
her  back    to   the  cane   latticed 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

side  of  the  house,  not  ten  feet 
away,  crying  softly  to  herself. 

"Nadee,"  again  called  old 
Tariva  querulously,  "  hast  not 
yet  tired  of  baking  thyself  in 
the  fierce  sun,  looking  at  the 
ship.  Come,  child,  and  see  the 
oil  I  have  made  scented  with 
nudu  flowers  and  sandalwood. 
Dost  think  'tis  for  my  old 
white  locks  I  make  it,  thou 
lazy  Nadee?" 

A  sob  answered  her,  "Nay, 
mother.  But  set  it  aside  for 
a  little  time  ;  for  my  eyes  are 
dimmed  with  the  glare  of  the 
sun,  and  I  fear  the  smoke 
of  thy  fire.  And  here,  in  the 
shade,  it  is  cool  for  me  to  sit 
awhile." 

The  old  woman's  lined  and 
wrinkled  face  softened,  and  she 
113  H 


^  His  Native  Wife 

glanced  towards  the  side  of  the 
house  from  whence  Nadee 
spoke. 

''Thou  liest,  child.  'Tis 
not  the  sun  that  hath  hurt  thy 
eyes ;  'tis  the  fooHsh  tears  for 
the  man  who  hath  cast  thee 
off." 

"  Say  not  that,  my  mother," 
and  the  girl's  voice,  soft  and 
low  as  it  sounded,  trembled  as 
she  caught  her  breath,  "  for 
though  'tis  so  long  since,  not 
one  ship  have  we  seen  at  Losap 
since  he  sailed.  And  it  may  be 
this  one  ...  for  why  should  he 
cast  me  off,  as  thou  say  est  ?  " 

"  Why  ?  "  The  old  woman 
laughed  scornfully.  "Because 
of  the  wife  of  the  Christ-man 
at  Ponape  ;  the  woman  with 
the  hair  like  the  yellow  of  the 
114 


His  Native  Wife  5o» 

setting  sun ;  dost  think  thy 
beauty  can  compare  with  that 
of  the  Christ-woman  ?  " 

The  girl  sprang  to  her  feet, 
and  in  another  moment  she 
stood  in  the  open  doorway, 
with  her  hands  clenched. 

"  'Tis  a  lie,  'old  Tariva  ! 
Thou  art  old  and  foolish. 
The  wife  of  the  Christ-man 
was  nought  to  my  white  man." 

The  old  woman's  thin  lips 
parted  in  a  contemptuous  smile, 
and  her  white  teeth  showed. 
Still  fanning  the  embers  with 
one  hand  she  looked  keenly  at 
Nadee's  working  face. 

''Why  was  it,  then,  that 
after  the  Christ-man  and  his 
wife  came  to  Ponape,  that  he 
went  away  from  thee  ?  " 

The  girl's  hands  unclenched, 
115 


^  His  Native  Wife 

and  a  troubled  look  came  into 
her  face. 

"  He  was  wearied,  he  said,  or 
the  dull  days,  and  longed  to  go 
out  upon  the  ocean  again  in  one 
of  the  ships  that  seek  for  whales. 
For  that  is  the  work  that  he 
hath  done  from  his  boyhood. 
And  how  could  he  take  me  with 
him?" 

*'  "Tah !  lies,  lies,  all  lies. 
Are  there  not  many  white  men 
in  these  islands  whose  wives 
voyage  to  and  fro  with  them 
in  ships  ?  Did  not  Siria,  the 
daughter  of  Larik,  and  Nili, 
mine  own  sister's  child — she 
who  is  now  dead — sail  with 
their  white  husbands  to  the  far 
off  islands  of  the  south  ?  " 

"  True,  mother,"  said  Nadee 

steadfastly,    ''  but,     see,    those 
ii6 


His  Native  Wife  So» 

were  trading  ships.  But  never 
a  woman  goeth  away  beyond 
the  sea-rim  in  a  whale-ship. 
And  did  my  husband  ever  tell 
thee  lies  ? 

''  O  foolish  child,  to  so 
believe  in  one  of  strange 
blood.  If  he  so  cared  for 
thee,  why  did  he  weary  of 
thee  so  soon.?  I  tell  thee  it 
was  because  of  the  Christ- 
woman." 

'*  Not  so.  It  was  because 
that  he  was  poor  and  had  but 
little  goods  wherewith  to  buy 
oil  and  pearl  shell  and  tortoise 
shell,  as  did  the  other  white 
men  on  Ponape.  And  so, 
because  that  the  days  were 
dull  to  him  he  told  me  he 
desired  to  sail  for  two  years  in 
a  whale-ship,  so  that  he  would 
117 


^  His  Native  Wife 

get  money  in  plenty  ;  and  then 
would  he  return  with  all  the 
things  he  desired  and  live  with 
me  always.  But  the  beautiful 
Christ-woman  had  naught  to 
do  with  his  going." 

The  old  woman  lifted  the 
shell  she  was  tending  from  ofF 
the  fire,  and  brushing  off  the 
dust  from  the  mat  on  which 
she  sat,  motioned  to  the  girl  to 
sit  beside  her. 

*'  Come  hither,  little  one  and 
sit  by  old  Tariva — thy  mother's 
mother,  the  only  one  that  is  left 
to  thee  of  all  thy  people." 

Still  with  the  troubled  look 
in  her  lustrous  eyes,  Nadee, 
with  another  glance  seaward  at 
the  white  sails  of  the  ship, 
stepped  inside,  and  sat  down 
beside  the  old  woman,  who, 
ii8 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

drawing  the  girlish  figure  to 
her  wrinkled  old  bosom,  pressed 
her  lips  to  her's  in  a  silent, 
loving  embrace. 

"  Only  thou  art  left  to  me, 
little  one  ;  thou  of  all  that 
were  once  so  many ;  and 
because  that  I  am  so  old,  and 
will  soon  be  with  the  silent 
ones,  I  and  thou  wilt  be  alone, 
do  I  wish  to  tell  thee  of  some 
things." 

The  girl's  rounded  arm  en- 
circled the  old  dame's  skinny 
neck,  and  her  little  hand 
stroked  her  white  locks,  the 
while  she  laid  her  cheek,  so 
young  and  full  and  tender, 
against  her  grandam's  lined  and 
furrowed  brow. 

»  The  dead. 

119 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

ONE    OF    THE    OLD    BOTTLES. 

THERE  was  none  to  hear 
them  talk.  Save  the  old 
woman  and  the  girl,  the  rest 
of  the  few  people  in  the  little 
village  were  away  at  work  in 
their  plantations  or  out  fishing 
in  the  lagoon.  Outside,  the 
quiet  of  the  palm  grove  was 
scarce  broken  even  by  the 
rustling  of  the  breeze  that 
swayed  their  branches  to  and 
fro.  Sometimes,  on  the  white 
blaze  of  shimmering  beach  that 


His  Native  Wife  5oi 

came  to  within  a  few  fathoms 
of  the  open  door  of  old  Tari- 
va*s  house,  a  swift  black  shadow 
would  sweep  by  as  some  frigate 
bird  skimmed  past,  flying  down 
over  the  beach  ere  he  took  his 
mounting  flight  seaward  to 
plunge  with  deadly  aim  and 
cruel  beak  into  the  blue  depths 
of  ocean  beyond  the  barrier 
reef. 

So,  in  silence,  and  still 
caressing  the  aged  face,  Nadee 
waited  till  the  time-worn  old 
Tariva  chose  to  speak ;  but, 
even  as  she  waited  her  eyes 
wandered  out  seawards  again 
and  again. 

•  •  •  •  • 

**Turn  thy  back  to  the  sea, 
little  one.  Let  not  the  ship 
trouble   thy    mind   yet   awhile. 


^  His  Native  Wife 

When  I  have  said  all  that 
which  is  within  me,  then,  if 
thou  carest  to  still  look  across 
the  sea-rim  for  him  who  will 
never  come,  so  be  it,  and  I  will 
have  nought  more  to  say." 

The  girl  faced  round  with 
a  strange,  wondering  look  in 
the  depths  of  her  great  soft 
eyes.  What  was  it  old  Tariva 
had  to  say  ?  Thrice  since  the 
day  that  they  had  returned  to 
Losap  to  await  the  coming 
back  of  her  white  husband, 
had  her  grandam  spoken  to  her 
of  Railik,  the  son  of  the  chief 
of  Losap,  who  desired  her  for 
his  wife,  and  each  time  had 
Nadee,  covering  her  face  with 
her  hands,  shaken  her  head 
and  said,  ^'  I  will  wait.  The 
twenty  months    must    first    be 

122 


His  Native  Wife  &^ 

passed  and  gone  ere  I  will  talk 
ot  such  things." 

And  although  old  Tariva 
had  given  her  some  bitter 
words  for  her  folly,  yet  she 
had  not  sought  to  force  the 
girFs  choice.  Railik,  fierce 
and  turbulent  as  he  was,  dared 
not  seize  her  and  carry  her  off ; 
for  old  Tariva  was  ejon^  a  strong 
witch,  and  had  power  to  cause 
his  limbs  to  wither  and  perish 
so  that  the  skin  would  cleave 
to  the  bone  and  make  him  ugly 
to  look  upon  in  the  eyes  of  all 
men  if  he  tried  to  win  the  girl 
by  force  against  her  grandam's 
wish. 

But   yet  —  and    Nadee,    the 

white  man's  wife,  knew  it  well 

— old  Tariva  favoured  his  suit, 

and    though    since    that   third 

123 


^  His  Native  Wife 

time  she  spoke  not  again  of  the 
lying,  faithless  white  men  to 
her,  she  was  for  ever  talking 
of  the  skill  and  cleverness  in 
all  things  of  Railik,  he  whom, 
of  all  the  young  men  on  Losap 
was  worthy  by  his  father's  name 
to  have  a  wife  in  whose  veins 
ran  blood  as  good  as  his  own. 
•  •  •  •  • 

A  minute  had  passed  and  yet 
the  old  woman  had  not  spoken. 
She  had  placed  her  bony,  claw- 
like hands  upon  the  girl's 
smooth  and  rounded  shoulders 
and  her  keen  old  eyes  were 
bent  upon  Nadee's  in  a  strange, 
wild  look  that  filled  her  young 
heart  with  fear. 

Presently  there  came  to  them 
a  sound,  as  of  the  strong  voices 

of  men,  made  faint  by  distance. 
124 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

**Heed  it  not,  my  Nadee," 
said  old  Tariva  in  a  low, 
mechanical  voice,  her  eyes  still 
fixed  upon  the  girl's  face,  "  'tis 
but  the  men  of  Losap  who  only 
now  see  the  sails  of  the  ship." 

Breathing  so  that  her  bared 
bosom  rose  and  fell  in  quick, 
panting  strokes,  and  with  eyes 
filled  with  terror,  Nadee  spoke 
in  a  voice  like  a  whisper. 

"  What  is  it,  O  my  mother, 
that  maketh  thee  look  so 
strangely  upon  me  ;  thy  eyes 
are  as  two  moons  shining 
through  the  blackness  of  the 
darkest  night,  and  fill  me  with 
fear.  Have  I  done  aught 
wrong,  and  art  thou  about  to 
cast  ejon  ^  over  me  ?  " 

*  Witchcraft,  wizardry,  religious 
belief. 

125 


^  His  Native  Wife 

As  she  faintly  whispered  the 
last  words  her  eyes  grew  dim, 
misty,  and  slumberous. 

**  Nadee  !  "  and  the  quaver- 
ing tones  of  Tariva*s  voice 
became  strong  and  harsh  as  the 
call  of  the  frigate-bird,  "  wake, 
child  !  There,  see,  my  be- 
loved ;  look  now  into  old 
Tariva's  eyes  ;  only  do  I  cast 
ejon  on  those  whom  I  hate/' 
and  she  took  her  hands  from 
Nadee's  trembling  shoulders ; 
'*but  listen  well  to  me." 

**  Aye,  my  mother;  but  look 
not  again  with  thy  eyes  into 
mine,  for  then  my  soul  goeth 
out  into  darkness,  and  though 
I  hear  thy  voice  my  heart  and 
tongue  sleep." 

A  faint  smile  crossed  the 
thin,  old  lips,  and  patting  the 
126 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

girl's  knee,  she  said  in  soft, 
purring  tones — 

"  Fear  not,  my  little  bird. 
Strong  am  I  to  cast  spells  for 
good  and  evil  over  men  and 
women  ;  only  against  the 
rebelli  (white  people)  am  I 
powerless.  And  it  is  because 
that  my  ejpn  is  of  no  avail 
against  the  white  man  that  I 
now  sit  here  and  plead  for  thee 
to  lay  well  to  thy  mind  that 
which  thou  must  know." 

"  Mother,"  and  Nadee  bent 
her  head  low  down  upon  the 
old  dame's  lap,  "  would'st  use 
ejon  to  harm  my  white  hus- 
band ?  " 

''  Nay,  child.     For  though  I 

hate  the    rebelli^   v/hether   they 

be  ship-men  or  Christ-men,  yet 

would    I    bring    thy    husband 

127 


^  His  Native  Wife 

back  to  thee,  child  of  my  child, 
and  last  of  my  race,  ere  I  go 
out  to  the  spirit  land." 

"Why  hate  ye  the  white 
men,  mother  ?  " 

A  savage  light  leapt  into  the 
old  woman's  eyes  and  her 
white,  even  teeth  snapped  to- 
gether like  the  jaws  of  a 
shark. 

''  Hate  them  !  Aye,  that  do 
I.  Would  that  I  could  live  to 
see  them  wither  and  perish  and 
be  swept  away  as  we  of  the  sea- 
girt lands  have  withered  and 
perished  before  them.  Long, 
long  ago,  when  my  hair  was 
as  black,  and  my  bosom  as  full 
and  round  as  thine,  my  people 
were  a  great  people,  for,  as 
thou  knowest,  my  father  was  a 
great  man  on  Ponape,  and  the 
128 


His  Native  Wife  Sik 

land  he  ruled  stretched  from 
Jakoits  on  the  north  to  Meta- 
lanien,  near  unto  the  strange 
stone  houses  that  were  built  by 
the  Unknown  Men.'  He  it 
was  who  sailed  in  two  great 
canoes  to  this  little  island  of 
Losap,  a  twenty  days'  journey, 
and  slew  half  the  men  and 
would  have  slain  all  but  that 
his  eyes  were  taken  with  the 
beauty  of  my  mother,  who,  as 
she  fled  along  this  beach  now 
before  us,  fell,  and  would  have 
been  thrust  through,  only  that 
my  father  beat  back  the  bloodied 
hands  of  those  who  pursued 
her.  And  so,  because  she 
pleased  him,  he  spared  the  lives 
of  all  those  men  of  Losap  who 

«  The  mysterious  and  ancient  ruins 
on  Ponap^,  in  the  Caroline  Islands. 
129 


"^  His  Native  Wife 

still  lived,  and  took  her  to  wife. 
Ah  !  those  were  the  days  when 
we  were  strong." 

**  Tell  me  more,  my  mother.'* 
"Aye,  child,"  answered  Ta- 
riva,  who  was  speaking  of  those 
olden  days  with  a  set  purpose, 
and  noting  how  eagerly  Nadee 
listened  ;  "  those  were  days 
when  the  quick,  hot  blood  of 
youth  ran  lusty  and  strong  in 
my  father's  veins,  and  save  for 
the  two  or  three  white  sailors 
who  dwelt  under  the  protection 
of  T'Nanakin,  the  king  of 
Jakoits,  we  of  Ponape  knew 
naught  of  the  rebelli.  Brave 
men,  though,  were  those  white 
men,  for  sometimes  when  a 
ship  lay  becalmed,  they  led 
our  people  out  in  the  dead  of 
night  and  slew  all  on  board, 
130 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

and  returned  to  the  shore  laden 
with  riches." 

The  girl  shuddered  as  she 
caught  the  fiery  gleam  and 
sparkle  in  old  Tariva's  sunken 
eyes,  but  yet  listened  intently, 
leaning  her  chin  upon  the  palm 
of  one  hand. 

"And  then  the  days  and 
months  and  years  went  by,  till 
there  came  to  Metal  anien  the 
first  of  the  Christ-men,  in  a 
white  -  painted  ship.  Well 
would  it  have  been  had  my 
father  and  T'Nanakin,  the  king 
of  Jakoits,  done  unto  this  ship 
as  they  had  done  unto  others, 
but  the  ejon  of  the  Christ-man 
was  too  strong,  and  he  fooled 
my  father  and  T'Nanakin  both 
with  his  cunning  words." 
131 


•^  His  Native  Wife 

"  How  so,  my  mother  ?  " 
*'In  this  way,  child.  All 
men  love  to  hear  of  that  which 
is  strange  and  new  ;  and  this 
Christ  -  man  told  my  father 
cunning  lies  of  a  man-god  who 
was  greater  than  all  the  gods 
of  Ponape,  and  who  had  sent 
him — the  cunning  Christ-man 
— to  Ponape  to  tell  my  father 
to  forswear  the  old  gods  and 
follow  the  god  of  the  Christ- 
man." 

"Aye,  mother,  my  husband 
hath  spoken  to  me  of  this 
Christ-God." 

''  What  said  he,  Nadee  ?  " 
''  But  little,  mother.  'Twas 
long  ago,  when  the  beautiful 
Christ-woman — the  wife  of  the 
Christ-man,  whom  my  husband 
called  a  meddling  fool — came 
132 


His  Native  Wife  5o» 

to  our  house  with  her  husband 
and  talked  with  mine.  Some- 
thing they  said  to  him  of  myself 
and  the  wrath  of  the  Christ- 
God  it  was  that  angered  him, 
and  though  he  spoke  softly 
because  of  the  yellow-haired 
woman,  who  sat  by  me  with 
her  hand  clasped  around  mine, 
yet  he  was  hot  with  anger 
against  the  mean-looking  man 
who  said  the  Christ  had  sent 
him  to  save  me  from  perishing. 
*' '  Go,'  he  said,  speaking  in 
the  tongue  of  the  white  man, 
*thou  to  thy  trade,  and  leave 
me  to  mine.  Come  not  here 
to  me  in  mine  own  house  and 
seek  to  poison  the  heart  of  my 
wife  against  me.  She  is  to  me 
my  wife  by  the  custom  of  the 
land,  and  I  want  no  man  such 
133 


^  His  Native  Wife 

as  thee  to  come  between  us.* 
And  then  the  woman  rose  and 
bade  me  farewell  and  said  to 
the  Christ-man,  her  husband, 
'  Leave  them.  Why  should 
we  seek  to  make  trouble  be- 
tween them  ?  '  So,  though 
they  came  again  to  my  hus- 
band's house,  the  woman's 
husband  spoke  no  more  to 
mine  of  the  Christ-God  and 
the  lake  of  fire  into  which  He 
casts  his  enemies." 

''Ahe!''  resumed  the  old 
woman,  "  'Twas  that,  the  great 
sea  of  fire  which  is  in  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  that  made  the  heart 
of  T'Nanakin  turn  white,  and 
he  became  eaten  up  with  the 
ejon  of  the  Christ-God.  And 
day  by  day  the  power  of  the 
head  Christ-man  on  the  Christ- 
134 


His  Native  Wife  5o* 

ship  grew  stronger  and  stronger. 
One  day  it  came  about  that 
T'Nanakin  and  my  father  and 
other  chiefs  went  to  visit  the 
ship,  and  the  next  day  two  of 
them  were  seized  with  an  illness 
from  which  many  of  the  ship- 
men  had  died.  T'Nanakin, 
who  loved  these  men,  went  to 
the  Christ-wizard  and  besought 
him  to  save  his  men.  And  see, 
my  child,  how  silly  are  some 
men  and  how  clever  others  : 
for  this  wizard  soon  put  terror 
in  the  heart  of  T'Nanakin,  and 
said — 

*'  'If  these  men  die  it  is  the 
will  of  the  Great  Christ-God, 
who  hath  sent  me  to  tell  thee 
to  cast  away  thy  gods  of  wood 
and  worship  Him.  Beware,  O 
chief,  and  delay  not,  lest  some- 
135 


^  His  Native  Wife 

thing  terrible  befall  thee,  and 
the  lake  of  fire  swallow  up 
thee  and  thy  people.' 

"  The  two  men  died,  and 
then  in  every  house  in  every 
village  some  one  was  seized  by 
the  strange  illness  from  the 
Christ-ship,  and  many  hundreds 
died.  And  then  T'Nanakin 
with  his  chiefs  humbled  himself 
to  the  Christ-wizard,  and  said, 
'Thy  gods  are  greater  than 
mine.  Let  this  sickness  go 
away  from  my  people  and  I 
will  do  as  thou  wishest — I  will 
be  a  Christ-man.'  Then  the 
white  wizard  and  three  other 
wizards  who  were  with  him 
rejoiced  greatly  and  made  much 
of  T'Nanakin,  and  gave  him 
many  presents  and  clothed  him 
with  new  black  garments,  and 
136 


His  Native  Wife  So» 

a  high  black  covering  for  his 
head,  such  as  is  worn  by  these 
Christ-men  in  their  own  coun- 
try. In  two  days  all  of  his 
people  swore  faith  to  the  Christ- 
God  ;  but  my  father  and  his 
people  did  not,  for  they  had 
heard  of  the  sickness  and  no 
one  of  them  would  go  near  the 
white  men.  Then  T'Nanakin, 
who  had  cast  away  his  father's 
gods  for  the  new  ejon^  sent 
word  down  saying,  '  Come  up 
and  be  a  Christ-man,  or  thou 
and  thy  people  will  be  seized 
with  a  deadly  illness  and  die, 
and  be  cast  into  a  lake  of  red 
fire,  where  they  shall  yet  live 
again  for  ever.'  But  my  father 
would  not  go. 

"So     T'Nanakin     and     my 
father  quarrelled,  and  one  night, 
137 


^  His  Native  Wife 

when  all  in  our  village  lay 
asleep,  the  canoes  of  T'Nanakin 
crept  down  and  killed  all  that 
would  not  be  slaves  to  him  and 
the  white  wizard,  and  then,  we 
who  were  conquered  knew  that 
the  ejon  of  the  white  man's  God 
was  greater  than  that  of  ours. 

"  For  two  moons  T'Nanakin's 
men  sought  out  and  slew  all 
those  opposed  to  the  new 
faith,  and  no  smoke  arose  in 
our  country  save  that  v^hich 
came  from  the  burning  houses 
of  my  father's  people  ;  for  we 
fled  to  the  woods — all  that  were 
left  of  us — and  lived  in  hiding. 
Then  came  the  time  when  many 
died  of  hunger,  and  Kanka,  my 
father,  and  all  the  men  who 
were  with  him  died  under  the 
knives  of  T'Nanakin's  men,  who 
138 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

had  found  out  our  refuge.  And 
then  my  mother,  taking  me  with 
her,  fled  with  some  few  other 
women  and  children,  of  whom 
I  was  one,  to  the  island  called 
Pakin,  close  to  the  mainland  ; 
and  there  we  lived  till  I  was 
taken  to  wife  by  a  man  of 
Pakin,  and  there  thy  mother 
was  born  to  me.  She,  too,  like 
myself,  was  taken  to  wife  by  a 
man  of  Pakin.  At  thy  birth 
she  died,  and  with  her  last 
words  besought  me  to  take  thee 
to  this  land  of  Losap,  where 
we  would  be  well  cared  for  by 
those  of  our  blood.  But  I 
lived  on  at  Pakin,  till  both  my 
husband  and  thy  father  were 
dead,  and  thou  wert  a  grown 
girl.  Then  came  this  Jaki  of 
thine,  who  took  us  to  live  with 
139 


^  His  Native  Wife 

him  at  Ponape.  And  I  know 
he  will  never  come  back  to 
thee  ;  so  wait  no  longer,  my 
child,  but  take  Railik  for  thy 
husband.  He  is  a  clever  man 
and  hates  the  white  men  as 
much  as  I  hate  them." 

The  girl  covered  her  eyes  with 
her  hands  but  said  not  a  word . 

"  See,  child,  there  is  yet 
another  thing.  Thou  sayest 
that  the  fair-faced  white  woman 
the  wife  of  the  hog-faced  Christ- 
man,  is  nought  to  thy  husband. 
Now  I,  that  am  very  old,  know 
many  things,  because  of  the  ejon 
I  have  learnt  ;  and  I  tell  thte, 
foolish  one,  that  if  she  be  nought 
to  him,  he  was  much  to  her. 
And  it  was  because  she  looked 
at  him  with  her  eyes  like  the 
blue  sea,  and  made  him  ashamed 
140 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

of  thee,  that  he  wearied  of  thee 
and  went  away." 

Nadee  bent  her  head  still 
lower  and  then  wept  silently. 

"  Nay,  weep  not,  little  one," 
went  on  old  Tariva  mercilessly, 
"what  does  it  matter.'*  Thou 
hast  no  child  for  men  to  point 
at  and  jeer  and  say,  '  see  the 
child  of  the  man  who  fooled  its 
mother.'  And  yet  it  is  hard 
for  one  so  young  and  handsome 
as  thee  to  be  cast  aside  for 
another." 

"  Nay,  mother.  He  may  not 
come  back  to  me  ;  but  not  be- 
cause of  another  woman." 

"  Thou  fool.  Didst  thou  not 
see  that  in  less  than  a  year  after 
he  had  gone  that  the  white 
wizard  woman  sickened  and 
pined  for  him,  and  then  fol- 
141 


^  His  Native  Wife 

lowed  him  to  his  own  country 
in  the  white-painted  wizard 
ship.     Is  it  not  true  ?  " 

"  Mother,"  said  Nadee,  in  a 
whisper,  ''she  took  her  husband 
with  her." 

Old  Tariva  laughed  contemp- 
tuously :  "  Twas  but  a  trick. 
She  cares  not  for  her  husband, 
and  I  have  seen  her  turn  her 
face  from  him  when  he  spoke 
to  her.  'Tis  thy  white  man 
she  loves.  Now  listen,  child,  to 
me.  I  tell  thee  that  by  this  time 
she  hath  killed  the  dull-faced 
Christ-wizard  and  is  wife  to  thy 
white  man  in  her  own  land.  He 
did  but  fool  thee  when  he  spoke 
of  coming  back." 

She  ceased  and  looked  at  the 
bowed  figure  of  Nadee,  who  had 
buried  her  face  in  the  old  dame's 
142 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

lap   and   was   sobbing    convul- 
sively. 

Tariva,  muttering  to  herself, 
stroked  the  black  waves  of  hair 
tenderly,  and  waited.  She  had 
won,  and  Nadee,  the  child  of 
her  heart,  would  forget  this 
false  white  man  and  marry 
Railik,  and  then  she,  old 
Tariva,  would  have  given  to 
her  all  that  land  on  Losap 
which  was  hers  of  right,  for  had 
it  not  belonged  to  her  mother 
in  the  olden  days  ? 

Suddenly  the  sobs  ceased  and 
Nadee  rose  to  her  feet  and  went 
to  the  door.  For  a  moment  or 
two  she  looked  out  over  the 
blue  expanse  of  ocean  that  lay 
before  her  tear-dimmed  eyes  ; 
but  the  ship  had  gone,  she  had 
passed  round  the  south  horn  of 
143 


^  His  Native  Wife 

the  reef  and  was  hidden  from 
view  for  the  time. 

Then,  with  a  smile  struggling 
through  her  tears,  Nadee  turned 
and  spoke. 

"  It  shall  be  as  thou  wishest, 
my  mother.  I  am  indeed  a  fool. 
When  it  pleases  thee,  take  me 
to  Railik's  house." 

Then  she  stepped  out,  and 
with  a  choking  sob  threw  her- 
self down  on  the  grassy  plot  at 
the  back  of  old  Tariva's  house, 
and  lay  there  silent  with  her 
face  in  her  hands. 


144 


CHAPTER  IX. 

IN    THE    BOIL    OF    THE    SURF. 

TUTHEN  within  a  mile  or  so 
"  of  the  principal  village 
of  the  main  island,  the  Kellet 
Passmore  backed  her  main-yard, 
and  the  two  boats  pushed  off 
from  her  side,  the  lantern-jawed 
skipper  calling  out  to  Herrera 
to  get  back  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible as  the  wind  showed  signs 
of  dying  away  and  he  was  sus- 
picious of  an  easterly  gale 
coming  down  and  catching  him 
in  such  an  awkward  place. 
H5  K 


••?  His  Native  Wife 

"  There's  a  darned  big  swell 
roUin'  in  too,  naow,"  he  added, 
"  an'  I  ain't  too  dreadful 
anxious  to  keep  foolin'  around 
here  with  sich  a  current  settin' 
us  inshore." 

In  Herrera's  boat  were  the 
two  ladies,  the  stolid-faced 
Hosea,  and  the  usual  crew  ; 
in  Barrington's  himself  and  the 
crew  only,  and  a  box  containing 
the  trade  goods  for  barter  with 
the  natives. 

For  some  ten  or  twenty 
minutes  or  so  the  boats  pulled 
side  by  side  until  they  got 
within  a  few  hundred  yards  of 
the  reef,  then  Barrington's  drew 
ahead.  There  was  not  much 
of  a  sea  on,  but  the  passage 
through  the  break  in  the  reef 
was  very  narrow,  and  as  Bar- 
146 


His  Native  Wife  /©• 

rington  knew  the  place  well  his 
boat  was  to  go  first. 

"  Look,  Miss  Trenton,"  said 
the  mate,  pointing  to  the  white 
line  of  beach  in  front  of  them, 
*'  take  your  first  view  of  a  South 
Sea  Island  village,  and  see  the 
natives  swarming  down  to  the 
beach  to  meet  us." 

Kate,  with  her  eyes  dancing 
with  excitement,  answered  him 
with  a  bright  smile  and  then 
gave  a  little  scream. 

"Oh,  Helen,  look  at  Mr. 
Barrington's  boat." 

The  second  mate's  boat  had 
just  swept  over  the  reef,  bow 
down  in  front  of  a  roller,  and 
in  the  midst  of  a  seeth  of  white 
foam,  and  wild  cries  from  the 
swarm  of  natives  on  the  beach, 
she  landed  right  in  their  midst. 
147 


^  His  Native  Wife 

Herrera,  with  a  quick  look 
astern,  waited  for  another  sea 
to  come,  determined  to  go  in 
on  top  of  it,  instead  of  waiting 
for  a  lull  and  pulling  in  quietly. 
He  saw  that  there  was  a  clean 
run  in,  once  he  got  over  the 
edge  of  the  reef,  and  he  wanted 
to  show  Kate  Trenton  that 
Barrington  was  not  the  only 
man  who  could  take  a  boat  in 
over  the  reef  on  top  of  a  sea. 

At  a  sign  from  Herrera  the 
crew  shipped  the  oars  and  took 
out  broad-bladed  native  paddles 
— Barrington's  boat  had  gone 
in  with  oars  apeak — and  waited 
for  the  word. 

"  Give  it  to  her,  boys  !  " 
The  five  paddles  struck  into 
the  water    and    the   light  boat 
sprang  forward  in  front  of  the 
148 


His  Native  Wife  5o» 

advancing  sea.  In  another  ten 
seconds,  with  the  two  women 
and  Hosea  holding  tightly  to 
each  other  in  terrified  silence 
and  Herrera  straining  at  the 
steer-oar,  she  was  darting  like 
an  arrow  through  the  water,  in 
front  of  the  boiling,  hissing  surf 
Suddenly,  amidst  the  wild 
rush  and  bubble  of  the  snow- 
white  spume  that  frothed  past 
the  gunwales  with  lightning 
speed,  Herrera  uttered  a  savage 
oath  ;  right  ahead  of  him  lay  a 
round  knob  of  coral,  just  show- 
ing its  pink  and  blue  top  above 
the  surface  of  the  water.  With 
a  fierce  strain  at  the  steer-oar, 
he  just  shaved  past  it,  but  in 
another  moment  the  boat 
broached  to,  rolled  over,  and 
filled. 

149 


^  His  Native  Wife 

Before  a  canoe  could  be 
launched,  Barrington,  with  a 
curse  upon  the  mate's  vain 
folly,  had  sprung  back  into  his 
boat,  and  was  pulling  out  to 
save  them.  Already,  though, 
the  sweeping  back-wash  had 
carried  boat  and  people  out 
towards  the  edge  of  the  reef 
again. 

"  Pull,  you  sons  of  devils, 
pull,"  said  Barrington  to  his 
crew,  as  another  sea  came  hurt- 
ling in  with  curling  top,  "the 
women  will  be  drowned  !  " 

But  that  sea  nearly  half-filled 
his  boat,  and  by  the  time  they 
got  way  on  her  again  the  cap- 
sized boat  had  been  swept  down 
by  the  current  right  into  the 
thundering  surf  that  broke  on 
the  reef  on  each  side  of  the 
150 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

narrow  passage.  Fifty  yards 
away  Barrington  saw  two  of 
Herrera's  crew  and  the  Reve- 
rend Hosea,  who  was  supported 
by  them,  swimming  down  with 
the  current  towards  shallower 
water,  and  further  out  in  the 
blue  rollers,  he  saw  the  black 
head  of  Herrera,  keeping  him- 
self afloat,  and  holding  up  Kate 
Trenton.  Then,  almost  at  the 
same  moment  that  he  caught 
sight  of  the  white  face  of  the 
missionary's  wife  clinging  de- 
spairingly to  a  jagged  mass  of 
coral,  not  five  fathoms  away, 
another  roaring  sea  leapt  down 
upon  his  half-filled  boat  and 
fairly  smothered  her. 

"  Two  of  you  to  the  mate, 
boys,"  he  called  to  the  Maori 
crew,  "  the  rest  of  you  stick  to 
151 


^  His  Native  Wife 

the  boat,"  and  then  he  struck 
out  towards  the  drowning 
woman,  who,  with  the  strength 
of  despair,  still  dung  to  the 
coral  boulder,  which  was  about 
two  or  three  feet  out  of  the 
water,  and  so  saved  her  from 
being  smothered  by  the  seas 
which  rolled  by  on  either  side. 
Just  as  he  reached  her  a  roller, 
higher  and  swifter  than  the 
others,  tore  away  her  weaken- 
ing grasp,  and  holding  her  in 
his  arms  they  were  buried 
beneath  ;  when  they  came  to 
the  surface  he  saw  that  she  was 
still  alive,  but  nearly  uncon- 
scious. 

For  nearly  five  minutes  Har- 
rington, with  the  blood  welling 
from  a  fearful  cut  on  his  head, 
drifted  seaward  with  the  woman. 
152 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

He  knew  the  canoes  would  be 
along  presently,  for  already, 
although  strange  noises  filled 
his  brain  from  the  blow  he  had 
received  and  the  blood  blinded 
his  eyesight,  he  could  hear  the 
cries  of  the  natives  close  by. 

He  had  twined  his  right 
hand  into  the  woman's  hair, 
and  held  her  in  front  of  him  as 
he  struck  out  with  his  left. 
Then,  as  he  still  partly  drifted, 
partly  swam  seaward,  away  out 
from  the  sweep  of  the  seas — for 
they  were  now  beyond  the  reef 
— with  dulled  brain  and  blood- 
filled  eyes  a  thought  ran  through 
him  that  smote  his  heart  with  a 
deadly  chill.  He  knew  he  was 
bleeding  badly  and  knew  that 
the  sharks  are  quick  to  answer 
to  the  smell  of  blood. 
153 


^  His  Native  Wife 

"  God  help  us,"  he  muttered 
thickly  ;  "  what  can  I  do  ?  " 
Then  his  senses  left  him. 

•  •  •  • 

Away  out  on  the  Kellet  Pass^ 
more^  Captain  Amos  Bennett, 
from  the  fore-topsail  yard,  had 
seen  Herrera's  boat  broach-to 
and  fill,  had  seen  Barrington's 
meet  with  a  like  fate,  and  had 
cursed  all  missionaries  unto  the 
tenth  generation. 

"Waal,  rU  be  gol  darned  ! 
Two  boats  capsized  and  ez  like 
ez  not  stove  in,"  and  he  threw 
his  cigar  down  on  to  the  deck 
for'ard  with  another  curse  after 
it ;  "  and  perhaps  some  of  my 
men  injoored." 

''  Hope  the  women  and  the 
parson    ain't    hurt,"    said    the 
fourth  mate,  who  had  just  come 
154 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

up  aloft  and  stood  beside 
him. 

''  Darned  ef  I  care  ;  their 
passages  are  paid,"  was  the 
snorting  reply  ;  for  the  worthy 
Bennett  — although  he  didn't 
mean  what  he  said — was  in  a 
very  bad  temper. 

And,  just  then,  as  he  gave 
orders  for  another  boat  to  be 
lowered,  the  breeze  died  away 
so  suddenly  and  suspiciously 
that  he  hurried  down  below  to 
look  at  the  glass.  He  was 
back  on  deck  in  a  minute. 

"  Never  mind  the  boat,  Mr. 
Briggs.  There's  plenty  of 
canoes  to  pick  up  the  darned 
fools,  and  there's  going  to  be 

h 1  to  pay  in  another  five 

minutes   here.      Stand   by   the 

braces,  and  look  spry  we  don't 

155 


^  His  Native  Wife 

get    caught    aback.      Darn   all 
parsons,  I  say." 

In  another  ten  minutes  the 
first  puffs  of  the  coming  easterly 
struck  the  old  barque.  She 
heeled  over  to  it,  and  then  as 
the  whistle  of  it  passed  away 
stood  up  again  on  an  even 
keel  ;  but  only  for  a  few 
seconds,  as  the  short,  savage 
puffs  settled  down  into  the 
droning  hum  of  a  heavy  squall. 

Two  hours  later,  under  close 
reefed  fore  and  main-topsails, 
she  was  running  before  the 
storm,  with  a  sea  like  mountains 
chasing  her  and  banging  against 
her  old,  square  stern  and  wall- 
sides. 

"Guess  we  won't  heave  her 
to  among  these  reefs  between 
156 


His  Native  Wife  ^o^ 

Loosap  and  D'Urville's  Island, 
Mr.  Briggs.  Let  her  go  as  she 
is,  an'  we'll  get  under  the  lee  or 
Truk  until  this  darned  easterly 
blows  its  guts  out.  Then  I 
reckon  we'll  hev  to  come  back 
and  pick  up  Mr.  Herrera  an' 
Mr.  Barrington  and  them 
Gawspil  folks." 

And  so,  with  the  drone  or 
the  easterly  singing  through  her 
cordage,  and  the  swash  of  the 
mountain  seas  swirling  up 
against  her  weather-beaten  sides, 
the  old  whaler  plunges  and 
splashes  westward,  running  dead 
before  it,  and  is  lost  to  sight 
and  no  more  heard  of  in  this 
story. 


157 


CHAPTER  X. 

UNDER     THE     PALMS. 

A  SWARM  of  brown,  half- 
-^^  naked  men  and  women 
rushed  to  the  beach  to  meet 
the  returning  canoes,  and  as 
they  stood  and  waited  a  savage, 
roaring  gust  swept  through  the 
dense  palm-grove  at  their  backs, 
and  whipped  up  great  clouds  of 
the  white,  clinging  sand,  and 
carried  it  far  out  seawards. 

"Haste,  haste,  my  children  ! " 
and  Sru,  the  chief  of  Losap,  a 
great,  broad-shouldered   native, 
158 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

naked  save  for  his  thick  girdle 
of  banana  fibre,  sprang  into  the 
water  and  looked  anxiously  at 
the  three  canoes  as  they  sped 
shoreward  in  face  of  the  rising 
storm. 

A  wild  cry  went  up  from  the 
assembled  people  as  the  first 
canoe  swept  in  through  the 
boiling  surf  and  ran  her  sharp 
bows  upon  the  beach,  and  the 
wet  and  naked  rowers  sprang 
out  ;  and  Herrera,  holding 
Kate  Trenton  in  his  arms,  was 
seen  seated  amidships  with  two 
of  Harrington's  boat's  crew. 

Too  exhausted  to  speak,  he 
motioned  to  the  women  to  take 
her  ;  and  then,  staggering  on 
his  feet  like  a  drunken  man,  he 
sought  to  discover  something  of 
Barrington  and  the  others  ;  but 
159 


^  His  Native  Wife 

a  blinding,  stinging  rain-squall 
had  obscured  the  two  other 
canoes  from  view  ;  and  then  he 
was  half  carried  away  by  some 
natives  to  the  shelter  of  the 
chiePs  house,  where  the  women 
laad  already  taken  Kate  Tren- 
ton, and  with  kindly  hands  and 
pitying  words  were  bringing  her 
back  to  life  again. 

In  the  second  canoe  were  two 
of  Herrera's  men,  for  their  boat 
had  been  hopelessly  stove  in, 
and  after  them  came  Barring- 
ton's  boat,  "  swum  in "  by 
natives  and  the  rest  of  his  crew ; 
the  third  canoe  was  yet  out 
amid  the  tumbling  breakers  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  away,  but 
showing  up  now  and  then  a 
black  spot  amid  the  white  seeth 
of  swirling  foam. 
i6o 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

«  Ha  !  "  cried  Sru,  "  Railik 
my  son  hath  cause  to  be  last  ; 
for,  see,  there  are  yet  three 
more  of  the  rebelli  swimming 
in  the  shallow  water  near  to  his 
canoe — the  current  hath  swept 
them  far  down.  Even  now  do 
I  see  the  three  heads  above 
the  water." 

•  •  •  •  • 

And  away  out  in  the  canoe, 
Railik,  with  his  long  black  hair 
streaming  out  to  the  gale,  saw 
them  too,  and  urged  his  men 
to  paddle  hard.  Ten  minutes 
before  he  had  picked  up  Bar- 
rington  and  the  missionary's 
wife ;  and  as  a  whifF  of  spray 
smote  him  fiercely  in  the  face, 
he  shook  the  water  from  his 
eyes  and  glanced  down  to  see 
if  the  woman  was  yet  alive,  as 

l6l  L 


^  His  Native  Wife 

she  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the 
canoe  with  her  head  supported 
by  a  native  boy.  Up  forward, 
lying  on  his  back  with  the 
blood  still  flowing  from  his 
head,  was  Barrington.  Pre- 
sently he  sought  to  rise,  and 
placed  one  hand  on  the  gun- 
wale of  the  canoe. 

"  Nay,  stay  thou  quiet,  Jaki," 
said  the  native  who  paddled  on 
the  bow  thwart  and  whose  feet 
were  placed  one  on  each  side  of 
the  white  man's  body,  "  try  not 
to  rise,  for  should  I  miss  but 
one  stroke  of  my  paddle  then 
does  the  canoe  fill,  and  thou 
and  the  white  woman  be 
drowned." 

Another  sea  swept  by  them 
with  an  angry  hiss,  and  the 
canoe  buried  her  outrigger  deep 
162 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

down,  and  Railik,  with  his  left 
hand  grasping  the  steering- 
paddle,  bent  down  and  scooped 
out  the  water  with  a  half-dozen 
quick  strokes  of  the  wooden 
baler.  Then  in  another 
minute  the  canoe  shot  along- 
side the  three  struggling  men 
— two  of  Barrington's  crew 
and   the   missionary. 

"  Ha  !  "  cried  Sru,  turning 
to  his  people,  "  he  hath 
them." 

And  then  those  who  watched 
saw  the  canoe,  now  sunk  deep 
in  the  water,  head  for  the  shore, 
as  with  a  wild  cry  of  triumph, 
heard  even  through  the  hum  of 
the  wind  and  the  thunder  of  the 
surf,  the  half-nude  paddlers  sent 
her  flying  to  the  beach. 

A  swarm  of  natives  crowded 
163 


^  His  Native  Wife 

round  as  Railik,  panting  hotly 
for  his  breath,  stood  up,  and 
cast  his  paddle  on  the  sand. 

''  How  many  hast  thou  ?  '* 
said  Sru. 

''  Four,  oh  father  Sru — three 
men  and  one  woman.  And  see, 
he  there  who  hath  the  bloodied 
face  is  Jaki — the  woman  is  his 
wife!"  ^  :^ 

A  sudden  silence  fell  upon 
the  crowd  of  natives,  but  no 
one  spoke. 

Then,  muttering  something 
in  a  savage  undertone  to  his 
crew,  the  chiefs  son,  without 
another  glance  at  the  people  he 
had  saved  from  death,  strode 
away  towards  the  village,  and 
his  father  told  those  about  him 
to  carry  Barrington  and  the 
white  woman  to  his  house. 
164 


Held  in  the  arms  of  a  tall,  slender  native  girl. 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

"  Tend  them  well,"  he  said, 
**  for  when  the  storm  is  ceased 
the  ship  will  come  back  for 
them.  So,  give  them  all  to  eat 
and  drink,  and  then  in  a  little 
while,  when  their  strength  has 
come  back,  will  I  ask  of  this 
dog  Jaki  how  it  is  he  bringeth 
back  a  new  wife." 

Held  in  the  arms  of  a  tall, 
slender  native  girl,  who  looked 
pityingly  down  upon  her  trem- 
bling figure,  Helen  Parker 
opened  her  lips  and  spoke. 

"  Where  is  Jaki  ?  "  she  said. 

A  woman  who  stood  close 
by  pointed  to  a  number  of  men 
who  were  helping  Harrington 
up  over  the  brow  of  the 
beach. 

"  Thy  husband  is  there.  He 
is  badly  hurt  and  like  to  die. 
165 


^  His  Native  Wife 

Who  art  thou  that  speaks  out 
tongue  ? " 

"I  am  the  Christ-woman 
from  Ponap^  Take  me  to  my 
husband." 

And  leading  her  by  the 
hands  the  girl  and  woman 
walked  with  her  to  the  chief's 
house,  and  pointed  to  the  figure 
of  Jack  Barrington,  who  lay 
upon  a  mat  with  some  native 
women  bandaging  his  head. 

She  stood  over  him  for  a 
moment  trying  to  speak  ;  but 
her  voice  failed  her.  At  last  she 
spoke. 

"Thank  God,  Mr.  Barring- 
ton,  you  are  alive.  The  natives 
tell  me  my  husband  is  badly 
hurt.     Where  is  he  ?  " 

No   answer    came,  and  then 
looking  into  the  ghastly,  pallid 
i66 


His  Native  Wife  5o^ 

face  of  the  man  she  loved,  she 
forgot  all,  and,  kneeling  beside 
him,  took  his  face  in  her  hands 
and  kissed  him  again  and 
again. 

•  •  •  •  • 

Railik,  speeding  along  through 
the  groves  of  coconut  and 
bananas  towards  the  dwelling 
of  old  Tariva,  took  no  heed 
of  the  crash  and  roar  of  the 
storm  that  now  seemed  to  shake 
the  island  to  its  foundation^. 
He  knew  that  even  if  the  few 
people  who  lived  in  the  village 
on  the  little  island  with  Nadee 
and  the  old  woman  had  left  it 
with  the  intention  of  seeing  the 
boats  land  from  the  ship,  they 
would  have  returned  to  their 
houses  again  in  the  face  of  such 
a  wild  sea  as  was  now  breaking 
167 


^  His  Native  Wife 

over  the  connecting  reef  that 
lay  between  their  village  and  the 
main  island.  No  canoe  could 
cross  the  lagoon  now,  and  to 
walk  round  by  way  of  the  beach 
on  the  lee  side  would  take  them 
many  hours.  So,  on  he  pushed, 
through  the  fast-gathering  dark- 
ness and  the  clashing  and  tear- 
ing of  the  countless  palm  tops 
above  him  and  the  frightened 
shrieks  of  the  sea  birds,  and  the 
growling  thunder  of  the  mighty 
seas  as  they  dashed  against  the 
barrier  wall  of  coral  rock  to 
pour  like  cataracts  along  its 
level  top  into  the  shallow  waters 
of  the  lagoon. 

Then,  when  he  came  within 
sight  of  the  tiny  village  of  four 
houses,  he  lay  down  in  the  dark- 
ness and  waited.     He  wanted 
i68 


His  Native  Wife  5o» 

to  see  Tar* /a  alone,  and  would 
watch  for  her. 

One  by  one  the  fires  were 
lighted  in  the  houses,  and  then 
he  caught  a  glimpse  of  Nadee 
as  she  passed  out  of  Tariva's 
house  to  one  that  stood  about 
fifty  yards  away. 

Springing  to  his  feet  he  glided 
through  the  swaying  wind-tossed 
palms  till  he  reached  the  back 
of  the  old  woman's  house,  and 
looked  through  the  cane  lattice- 
work of  its  walls. 

"  Tariva,"  he  called,  "  'tis  I, 
Railik.  Come  thou  outside,  so 
that  we  may  talk ;  for  I  be  in 
haste." 

In  a  few  seconds  he  saw  her 

figure    coming    towards    him, 

her    white   hair    blowing    and 

whipping    about    her    face    as 

169 


^  His  Native  Wife 

she  peered  out  into  the  dark- 
ness. 

'*  Here,  mother,"  and  he  put 
out  his  hand. 

She  took  it  in  silence,  and 
then  they  walked  together  till 
they  reached  a  great  nudu 
tree,  behind  the  buttressed  trunk 
of  which  they  stood  for  shelter. 

^'  Now  is  the  time  come  for 
thee,Tariva,  to  prove  thy  friend- 
ship to  me,  and  give  me  Nadee." 

'*That  would  I  have  done 
long  since  ;  but  the  girl  waited 
for  her  white  husband ;  but, 
see,  here  do  I  show  my  friend- 
ship for  thee !  Only  but  a 
little  time  since  we  talked  to- 
gether, and  to-morrow  did  I 
mean  to  bring  her  to  thee,  for 
now  she  believeth  that  her  hus- 
band will  come  not  back." 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

Railik  laughed.  **  Mother, 
he  hath  come  back.*' 

"Then  why,  O  RaiJik,  dost 
thou  come  here  to  fool  me  ? 
How  can  I  give  her  to  thee  if 
Jaki  hath  come  ?  Dost  think 
thou  can'st  force  her  now  ?  " 

"  Mother,  listen.  But  little 
time  have  I  to  talk,  even  of 
such  a  matter  as  this  :  for  I 
must  haste  back.  See,  now, 
and  then  tell  me  if  I  am  not 
wise.  Two  boats  came  from 
the  ship  and  both  were  over- 
powered by  the  seas  and  the 
people  in  them  cast  out." 

"  Good,"  answered  the  old 
dame,  '*  would  they  were  all 
eaten  by  the  sharks." 

"  Then  I  and  four  others  in 
my  canoe,  and  Sirra  and   Tasa 
in  their    canoes,    went    out    to 
171 


^?  His  Native  Wife 

them — and  it  came  about  that 
I  saw  that  two  of  the  rebelli 
were  washed  outside  the  reef 
apart  from  the  others,  and  lo, 
they  were  a  man  and  a  woman 
— and  the  man  was  Jaki.  Just 
was  he,  and  the  woman  with 
him,  about  to  sink,  when  we 
dragged  them  in  ;  for  he  had  a 
great  wound  in  his  head." 
**  Ahe,  and  the  woman  ?  " 
"  She  was  as  one  dead.  And 
I,  mother,  when  I  saw  the  face 
of  the  white  man,  would  have 
let  him  drown,  but  those  with 
me  said,  *  Nay,  hurt  him  not, 
dost  thou  not  see  'tis  the  hus- 
band of  Nadee  } '  So,  though 
I  would  have  struck  my  paddle 
into  his  brain,  I  feared  to  do  so. 
But,  tell  me,  hath  not  the  Christ- 
woman  I  have  heard  thee  speak 
172 


His  Native  Wife  So» 

of  hair  like  the  yellow  of  the 
sun  r 

"  Aye,"  said  the  old  woman 
quickly,  clutching  his  wrist, 
"  and  was  it  she  who  was  with 
him?" 

*'  And  was  not  the  man — her 
husband,  the  Christ-wizard — 
little  and  dark,  with  a  face  ugly 
to  look  upon  ?  " 

''  Aye,  little  and  dark,  with 
hair  black  as  night.'* 

Railik  laughed.  "  See  how  I 
remember  these  things  that  thou 
hast  told  me.  Now,  as  Jaki  and 
the  woman  lay  in  the  canoe  I 
knew  she  was  the  Christ-woman 
thou  hast  so  often  told  me  of,  and 
then  I  had  no  wish  to  do  him 
harm,  for  I  knew  that  she  was 
wife  to  him,  even  as  thou  hast 
told  Nadee  she  would  be." 
173 


^  His  Native  Wife 

"  Ah,"  and  the  old  woman 
ground  her  teeth,  "  the  lying 
white  man.  Why  did'st  thou 
not  cast  them  over  again  ?  " 

"  So  we  turned  shoreward,** 
went    on    Railik,  "  and   as  we 
rose  to  the  sea  I  saw  Sirra  and 
his  men  take  up  another  woman 
and  a  man  from  the  sea,  even  as 
I  had  done  ;  and  as  we  crossed 
over  the  reef  we  saw  three  more 
rebelli  struggling  in  the  shallow 
water  between  the  reef  and  the 
shore.     And  when  we  came  to 
them  I  saw  that  two  were  ship- 
men  and  the  other  a  little  dark 
man  with  a  smooth  face." 
"The  Christ-man?" 
"  Aye,  the  Christ-man.    And 
then  I   knew  that  the  woman 
who  lay  in  the  canoe  was  not 
wife   to   Jaki,   and    while    the 
174 


His  Native  Wife  5o^ 

thought  of  Nadee  was  hot 
within  me,  and  my  men  helped 
in  the  two  ship-men,  I  sprang 
into  the  sea  as  if  to  save  the 
Christ-man  and " 

"  Ah  " — and  the  old  woman's 
eyes  glistened. 

"  And  took  him  by  the  hair 
and  dived  with  him,  and  struck 
his  head  against  a  rock  beneath 
so  that  he  died  quickly.  This 
did  I  because  I  told  those  with 
me  that  Jaki  had  now  a  new 
wife." 

"Thou  art  both  brave  and 
wise,  my  son.  I  can  see  what 
was  in  thy  mind." 

''  That  to-morrow  thou  shalt 
bring  Nadee  and  show  her  the 
white  woman  and  Jaki  sitting 
together  in  my  father's  house, 
and  say,  '  See,  thy  white  man 
175 


^  His  Native  Wife 

with  his  new  wife — the  Christ- 
woman  from  Ponape.' " 

"  Good,"  said  the  old  dame, 
pulling  his  face  down  to  hers 
and  embracing  him,  "  now  go, 
and  leave  what  else  is  to  be  done 
to  me." 


176 


CHAPTER  XL 

A  CONVERT  THROUGH  LOVt. 

nPHE  Storm  had  nearly 
^  ceased,  and  although  the 
wind  was  yet  high  and  the 
branches  of  a  hundred  thousand 
graceful  palms  thrashed  and  bent 
and  swayed  wildly  to  its  whist- 
ling note,  overhead  the  blue  sky 
was  unspecked  by  a  single 
cloud. 

Kate  Trenton  awoke  as  she 

lay  upon  her  couch  of  mats  in 

the  house  of  Sru,  the  chief,  and 

looking  out  through  the  opened 

177  M 


^5  His  Native  Wife 

window  up  into  the  star-spangled 
heavens  thanked  God  that  her 
life  had  been  spared,  and  that 
He  had  spared  Jose's  too. 

She  rose  softly  and  looked  at 
the  three  sleeping  figures  that 
lay  near  her.  That  which  was 
nearest  was  her  sister,  and  Kate, 
taking  a  rude  oil  lamp  in  her 
hand,  sank  on  her  knees  beside 
her,  and  with  tears  welling  fast 
to  her  eyes  scanned  the  pale  face 
of  the  sleeping  w^oman,  and  then 
touched  lovingly  the  bright  hair 
that  clustered  about  her  temples. 

"Sleep,  sleep,  dear  Helen," 
she  murmured,  and  then  she 
moved  silently  away  again  to  the 
little  window  and  gazed  out  past 
the  wildly  tossing  plumes  of  the 
coconut  grove  that  encompassed 
the  house,  at  the  rearing,  leap- 
178 


His   Native  Wife  5<^ 

ing  billows  that  thundered  with 
a  dulled  but  savage  symphony 
upon  the  black  line  of  reef  half 
a  mile  away. 

**  Poor  Hosea,"  she  said,  and 
then  her  tears  fell  fast.  "  He 
had  so  often  said  that  he  would 
willingly  give  his  life  if  need 
be  for  his  work,  and  now  to 
think  of  him  lying  out  there," 
and  she  turned  away  from  the 
window  with  a  sob,  and  covered 
her  face  with  her  hands. 

For  nearly  an  hour  the  girl 
lay  upon  her  couch  till  the 
light  of  the  lamp  paled  in  the 
silent  house,  and  the  grey  light 
of  the  dawn  stole  through  the 
serried  boles  and  crowns  of  the 
countless  palm  trees.  Drawing 
over  her  shoulders,  with  a 
strange,  happy  feeling  in  her 
179 


^  His  Native  Wife 

heart,  a  seaman's  pea-jacket, 
which  she  had  found  placed  be- 
side her  couch  and  knew  was 
Herrera's,  she  walked  noise- 
lessly over  to  the  wicker  door, 
stepped  outside,  and  sat  down 
upon  a  great,  flat  slab  of  coral. 

"  He  loves  me !  he  loves  me/* 
she  kept  saying  to  herself,  with 
a  whispering,  joyous  laugh, 
"  and  I  love  him.  How  can 
I  help  loving  him ;  he  is  so 
good  and  brave." 

A  step  on  the  gravel  made 
her  look  up,  and  the  man  who 
was  in  her  heart  stood  beside 
her,  with  his  black,  passionate 
eyes  looking  into  hers. 

"  It      is      very     cold,     Mr. 

Herrera,"  she  murmured,  "  and 

I  have  your    coat.     But    I  am 

going   in    again    now.     I    only 

i8o 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

came  out  because  I  could  not 
sleep  with  the  dreadful  sound 
of  the  surf,  and " 

She  stopped,  and  then  as  she 
was  about  to  rise  he  sank  at  her 
feet,  and  seizing  her  hands  in 
his  covered  them  with  kisses. 

''  Kate,  Kate  !  Do  not  go 
just  yet.  I  love  you.  See, 
sweet  one,  there  is  no  one  here 
to  hear  us.  Do  you  think  that 
I  have  been  sleeping  ?  No  !  I 
have  been  lying  there  beside 
Barrington  watching  you,  and 
waiting  for  the  moment  when 
I  could  come  to  you  and  tell 
you  that  I  love  you.  Love 
you,  Kate  !  Holy  Saints  for- 
give me  ;  but  yesterday  I  cursed 
the  poor  padre,  because  I 
thought  he  would  come  be- 
tween us.  And  I,  with  the 
i8i 


^  His  Native  Wife 

devil  in  my  heart  to  get  you, 
would  have  run  a  knife  into 
my  own  father  before  that 
should  happen." 

Trembling,  partly  with  joy 
and  partly  with  fear  at  his 
passionate  words,  Kate  Trenton 
let  him  draw  her  to  him,  and 
then  he  kissed  her  again  and 
again. 

'*See,  Kate,*'  and  the  man's 
voice  shook  as  he  turned  her 
face  to  him  and  looked  into 
her  honest  eyes,  "I,  Jose 
Herrera,  swear  to  you  by  the 
soul  of  my  mother,  and  my 
belief  in  heaven  and  hell,  that 
if  you  will  marry  me,  I,  too, 
will  become  one  of  your  faith — 
that  would  I  do  if  my  mother 
rose  from  her  grave  and  cursed 
me  " 

182 


His  Native  Wife  §^ 

'*  Jose  " — and  there  was  a 
happy  trill  in  her  voice — "I 
am  so  glad  .  .  .  because  I  love 
you. 

Then,  as  the  sound  of  foot- 
steps sounded  near  them  on  the 
pebbly  path,  she  glided  away 
from  him  inside  the  house,  and 
the  first  mate  of  the  Keller 
Passmorey  picking  up  the  jacket 
she  had  dropped,  walked  round 
to  the  little  window,  and  tapping 
softly  on  the  cane-work  side, 
held  up  the  garment  in  view. 

A  white  hand  and  arm  came 
out  of  the  gloom  of  the  still 
darkened  room,  and  Kate 
Trenton's  fingers  touched  his 
bearded  face. 

"  Good  night,"  she  whis- 
pered. 

"Good  night,"  he  said  in  a 
183 


^  His  Native  Wife 

low  voice ;  "  I  will  see  you 
again  soon,  sweet  Kate." 

Then  he  walked  quickly 
away  to  the  beach. 

Forty-eight  hours  before  Jose 
Herrera  had  talked  with  his 
boat's  crew  on  board  the  barque, 
and  had  promised  each  man  a 
hundred  dollars  the  day  they 
landed  him  and  Kate  Trenton 
at  Guam. 

"God  is  good  to  me,"  he 
said,  piously  crossing  himself. 
"  Two  days  ago  I  was  ready  to 
kill  the  poor  padre,  and  run 
the  lives  of  five  men  into 
danger  on  a  long  boat  voyage. 
And  now  the  poor  padre  is 
dead,  and  there  is  no  need  for 
me  to  commit  a  crime." 

Then,  as  he  had  no  tobacco 
to  smoke,  he  sat  down  on  the 
184 


His  Native  Wife  S^ 

cool  sand  watching  the  paling 
stars,  and  wondering  when  the 
Kellet  Passmore  would  turn  up 
again. 

"  DioSy**  he  said,  clasping  his 
small,  sinewy  hands  around  his 
knees,  *'  Kate  and  I  may  be 
married  in  a  month  from  now 
if  we  touch  at  Guam.  And 
touch  there  we  shall,  if  I  run 
the  ship  ashore  in  the  night." 


185 


CHAPTER    XII. 

HIS    NATIVE    WIFE. 

WITH  the  first  red  streaks 
of  sunrise  through  the 
palm-grove,  came  the  murmur 
of  voices  and  the  tramp  of 
naked  feet  about  the  gravelled 
path  that  led  to  the  chiefs 
house,  and  Helen  Parker  awoke 
to  her  sister's  kiss. 

"  Kate,"  and  the  pale  face 
lightened  up  as  she  drew  the 
girl  to  her  bosom,  "  I  have  had 
such  a  long  sleep,  and  feel  so 
well  and  strong,"  and  then  her 
i86 


His  Native  Wife  S<^ 

eyes  wandered  over  to  where 
Barrington  lay  with  Jose 
Herrera  sitting  by  his  side. 

"Will  he  die?"  she  whis- 
pered. "  How  horribly  white 
his  face  is  ?  " 

"Die.?  Silly  Helen!  No, 
dear ;  but  Mr.  Herrera  says 
that  the  cut  in  his  head  is  some- 
thing terrible,  and  that  he  will 
be  very  weak  for  a  long  time 
from  loss  of  blood,"  and  then 
Kate  laid  her  cheek  to  Helen's, 
"  but  we  will  nurse  him  in 
turns,  dear.  I  would  be  so 
miserable  if  he  died,  Helen,  for 
Jose — I  mean  Mr.  Herrera — 
told  me  that  not  only  did  he 
save  your  life,  but  his  and  mine 
too,  for,  before  swimming  out 
to  you,  he  told  two  of  his  men 
to  go  to  our  aid." 
187 


^  His  Native  Wife 

Helen  pressed  her  hand,  and 
again  she  glanced  at  the  pallid 
features  of  the  sleeping  man, 
and  Jose  Herrera  nodded  and 
smiled  reassuringly. 

"  Helen,"  and  Kate's  arm 
stole  round  her  waist,  "don't 
weep,  dear.  It  was  his  wish  to 
die  at  his  post.  It  is  such  men 
as  he  who  win  the  crown  of 
glory  for  the  cause  of  Christ." 

Helen  Parker  shuddered,  and 
then  a  hot  flush  dyed  her  face  ; 
she  had  not  been  thinking  of 
her  dead  husband  as  Kate 
imagined,  but  of  the  man  who 
had  all  but  given  his  life  for 
hers, 

•         •         •         •         • 

The  tramping  sound  of  naked 
feet    on    the    gravelled    paths 
around  the  house  increased,  and 
i88 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

Herrera  rose  and  came  over  to 
them. 

"  The  native  women  are 
bringing  baskets  of  food  and 
placing  them  outside,"  he  said  to 
Kate ;  '^  they  are  very  anxious 
to  come  inside  and  talk  to 
you  both,  but  Sru,  the  chief, 
has  forbidden  them  to  make 
any  noise.  He  thinks  you  are 
still  asleep.  Would  you  like 
to  come  outside  for  a  little  ? 
They  are  getting  us  something 
to  eat,  I  can  see." 

Moving  very  quietly  so  as 
not  to  awaken  Barrington, 
Herrera  opened  the  door,  and 
Helen  and  Kate  followed  him 
outside  and  faced  the  crowd  of 
natives  who  sat  awaiting  them. 
A  little  apart  from  the  rest, 
seated  on  a  mat  fringed  with 
189 


^  His  Native  Wife 

scarlet  parrot's  feathers,  was 
Sru,  the  chief;  behind  him,  his 
wife  and  Railik  his  son. 

A  murmur  of  approval  broke 
from  the  people  as  Helen 
stepped  across  to  the  chief,  and 
spoke  to  him. 

"We  thank  thee,  Sru  of 
Losap,  that  thou  and  thy  people, 
have  saved  us  from  death." 

"  Sit  thou  there,  Christ- 
woman,  thou  and  the  other 
woman,  and  the  dark-faced  ship 
man,"  and  the  chief  pointed  to 
where,  among  the  rest  of  the 
whaling  gear  saved  from  the 
boats,  the  four  line  tubs  were 
placed  side  by  side  ;  "  sit  thou 
there,  and  while  my  women  get 
ready  food  for  thee  to  eat,  let 
us  talk." 

They  sat  down  and  waited 
190 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

for  him  to  speak,  and  Herrera 
who,  although  he  could  not 
speak  the  language,  knew  by  the 
chiePs  manner  that  something 
was  wrong,  looked  anxiously 
around  for  his  and  Barrington's 
boats'  crews.  Not  one  of  the 
men  was  to  be  seen. 

•         •         •         •         • 

Suddenly,  with  a  fierce  scowl 
at  Helen,  the  chief  raised  his 
huge,  brawny  arm,  and  with  his 
open  palm  struck  the  mat  upon 
which  he  sat. 

"  Christ-woman,  why  came 
ye  here  ? " 

The  rude,  rough  words — so 
different  from  what  she  ex- 
pected, started  and  alarmed 
her. 

"  Why  such  angry  words  to 
those  who  have  been  cast  upon 
191 


^  His  Native  Wife 

the  beach  by  the  waves,  O 
Sru." 

"  'Tis  to  thee  alone  I  speak, 
thou  stealer  of  women's  hus- 
bands. See,"  and  he  sprang  to 
his  feet,  and  pointed  to  the 
oars,  lances,  and  harpoons  that 
lay  piled  together  by  the  tubs, 
"there  be  all  the  things  that 
were  taken  from  the  boats. 
Now  listen,  and  make  the  dark- 
faced  ship-man  by  thy  side  un- 
derstand my  words.  Presently, 
when  ye  have  eaten  and  drank, 
shall  my  people  fill  the  one 
boat  that  is  unbroken  with  food 
and  water,  and  then  shall  ye  all 
get  to  the  boat  and  go  away 
from  my  land  and  seek  the  ship 
again.  But  the  white  man  Jaki 
shall  stay." 

Utterly  at  a  loss  to  account 
.  192 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

for  the  chief's  angry  words  and 
inhospitable  manner,  Helen 
answered  him — 

"  Why  to  me  alone,  O  Sru 
of  Losap,  is  thy  anger  turned  ? 
And  how  am  I  a  stealer  of 
women's  husbands  ?  " 

"  Is  not  Jaki  the  husband  of 
Nadee?" 

An  agony  of  shame  for  the 
moment  overcame  her.  She 
knew  how  prone  the  native 
mind  was  to  suspicion,  and 
hastened  to  explain. 

"  He  is  not  my  husband. 
My  husband  is  dead  but  yester- 
day." 

And  then,  in  as  few  words  as 
possible,  she  told  how  it  was 
that  she  and  her  husband  came 
to  take  a  passage  in  the  whaler, 
and  then  asked  the  chief  if  he 
193  N 


^  His  Native  Wife 

did  not  know  that  her  husband 
was  dead. 

He  listened  to  the  end,  and 
then  answered  coldly  : 

*'  What  lies  are  these  ?  Are 
we  fools?  Are  not  every  one 
that  were  in  the  boats  alive  and 
well  but  Jaki  ?  Thou  dost 
but  say  this  for  fear  of  thy  life, 
thou  cunning  Christ-woman. 
Old  Tariva  knoweth  of  thy 
love  for  the  husband  of  Nadee, 
and  hath  told  us." 

For  a  minute  she  was  too 
dazed  to  speak,  and  then  a 
young  girl  who  sat  directly 
in  front  of  her  took  up  a 
small  piece  of  broken  coral 
and  tossed  it  at  her  feet  con- 
temptuously. 

"Thou  stealer  of  women's 
husbands  ! "  she  said  with  a 
194 


His  Native  Wife  5^ 

mocking  laugh,  and  then  came 
a  chorus  of  gibes  and  jeers. 

Herrera,  with  a  red  gleam  in 
his  eyes,  sprang  up,  and  in 
another  moment  Helen  had 
fainted  in  her  sister's  arms. 

Lifting  her  up,  Herrera  car- 
ried her  back  to  the  house  and 
laid  her  down. 

Kate  followed  him  in,  and 
splashing  her  face  with  water 
she  soon  revived. 

"  What  is  wrong,  dear  ? 
Why  is  that  dreadful-looking 
man  so  angry  ?  " 

"For  God's  sake  don't  ask 
me  now,  Kate.  Mr.  Herrera, 
we  must  leave  the  island  at 
once  ;  our  lives  are  in  peril 
else.  The  chief  says  that  as 
soon  as  we  have  eaten  some- 
thing we  must  go  away  ; 
195 


^  His  Native  Wife 

and  that  he  will  provision  the 
boat." 

"  Dios  !  Is  the  man  mad  ?  '* 
"  No,  no,"  said  Helen,  hur- 
riedly. "  I  know  the  cause  of 
it  all.  A  fierce  old  woman 
named  Tariva,  who  was  once 
at  Ponape,  and  hates  the  mis- 
sionaries bitterly,  has  poisoned 
his  mind  against  us  —  me  in 
particular.  We  must  go,  Mr. 
Herrera.  I  know  our  danger. 
She  is  a  terrible  woman,  and 
would  have  great  influence  over 
these  Losap  natives,"  and  then 
she  added  in  calmer  tones, 
"  Leave  me  here,  please.  I 
cannot  face  those  women  again, 
but  they  will  offer  no  harm  to 
either  Kate  or  you.  Go,  Mr. 
Herrera,  I  beg  of  you,  and  see 
to  the  boat." 

iq6 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

The  mate,  with  a  sympathetic 
grasp  of  her  hand,  turned  to  go. 
"  Do  not  fear,  ladies.  We  will 
be  safe  enough  in  the  boat,  and 
even  if  we  miss  the  ship  we  can 
run  down  to  Truk,  with  this 
wind,  in  thirty  hours." 

The  moment  Herrera  stood 
outside  two  of  his  boat's  crew 
met  him,  and  he  learned  that 
the  four  Maoris  had  told  them 
that  they  had  been  asked  by  the 
natives  to  remain  on  the  island  ; 
but  that  all  the  others,  except 
Barrington,  were  to  go,  or  they 
would  be  killed. 

"All  right,  boys,  let  the 
Maoris  stay — we  don't  want 
them.  Where  are  Pedro  and 
Tom,  and  the  boatsteerer  ?  " 

"  Down  at  the  boat,  stowing 
her  with  baskets  of  food.  She's 
197 


^  His  Native  Wife 

about  a  mile  farther  down  on 
the  beach." 

"  Very  well,  go  down  and 
lend  them  a  hand.  Here  ! 
take  the  oars  down  to  the  boat, 
and  pull  up  here  as  quick  as 
you  can.  I  will  stay  with  the 
ladies." 

Picking  up  the  oars  the  men 
walked  quickly  away  along  the 
beach,  and  Herrera  saw  with 
astonishment  that  there  was  not 
a  native  about.  They  had  all 
gone  into  their  houses,  and 
seemed  to  show  the  most  utter 
indifference  to  the  movements 
of  the  white  people. 

He  sat  down  on  one  of  the 
line  tubs,  and  presently  Kate 
Trenton,  her  face  pale  with 
excitement,  joined  him. 

"  Helen  is  coming  presently," 
?98 


His  Native  Wife  ^ 

she  said,  and  she  sat  beside  him 
and  placed  her  trembling  hand 
in  his. 

•         •         •         •         • 

Slowly  Harrington  opened  his 
eyes  and  gazed  stupidly  around 
him.  A  raging  thirst  and  a 
sound  of  some  one  sobbing  had 
roused  him  from  his  death-like 
sleep,  and  in  a  faint  voice  he 
called  for  water. 

"  Thank  God  !  "  murmured 
Helen,  and  raising  his  head  on 
her  arm,  she  placed  a  young 
coconut  to  his  lips. 

He  drank,  and  then  with  a 
heavy  sigh  sank  back  on  the 
roUed-up  mat  that  formed  his 
pillow,  and  closed  his  eyes 
again. 

She  knelt  beside  him  for   a 
few    moments   with   her   hands 
199 


^  His  Native  Wife 

clasped  tightly  together,  and 
then  bent  down  and  kissed 
him — -for  the  last  time. 

Then  came  the  sound  of  the 
crunching  gravel  outside,  and 
the  doorway  of  the  house  was 
darkened  by  two  figures,  but 
she  heard  nor  saw  them  not, 
as  she  sobbed  out  her  heart 
over  the  unconscious  man. 

"  See,  Nadee,  see  thy  white 
husband  and  the  Christ-woman 
for  whom  he  hath  cast  thee  off," 
and  then  old  Tariva  slipped  a 
knife  into  the  girl's  hand.  As 
Nadee  sprang  forward  Helen 
raised  her  face  ;  and  then  the 
knife  flashed  and  sank  deep 
down  into  her  heart,  and  stilled 
it  for  ever. 


His  Native  Wife  5o^ 

A  wild,  shrieking  laugh  made 
Kate  Trenton  and  Jose  Herrera 
spring  to  their  feet,  to  see  a 
hideous  old  woman  with  long, 
snow-white  hair,  standing  at  the 
door  of  the  chief's  house,  and 
the  next  moment  a  young  girl, 
as  fair-skinned  almost  as  Kate 
herself,  stepped  outside. 

Again  that  awful  screeching 
laugh  rang  out,  and  the  hag 
took  Nadee  by  the  hand  and 
led  her  out  in  full  view  of  the 
village.     Then  she  spoke. 

"  See,  O  men  of  Losap.  See 
the  red  hana  of  Nadee.  Hold 
thou  it  up,  my  wood-dove,  and 
let  them  see  the  blood  of  the 
Christ -woman  who  stole  thy 
lover  from  thee  with  her  strong 
witchcraft." 

And    Nadee,    with     blazing 

2CX 


^  His  Native  Wife 

eyes  and  panting  bosom,  held 
up  the  bloodied  knife. 

At  sunset  the  whale-boat, 
with  Kate's  head  pillowed  against 
her  lover's  bosom,  was  fifty 
miles  away ;  and  Jack  Barring- 
ton  awoke  to  find  bending  over 
him  the  calm  face  of  his  native 
wife. 


THE    END. 


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